The Red Sox have a new lead-off man and centerfielder. Boston announced on Friday that they had completed negotiations with free agent OF Johnny Damon. He agreed to a 4-year contract worth a reported $31 million; the $7M he will receive in 2002 will rise at increments of a half million in each successive season.

Damon brings the organization a strong offensive presence for the top of the lineup and allows them to play Trot Nixon in RF, which is a better fit for his defensive capabilities. The outfielder also possesses a good amount of offensive speed and should fit in well with manager Joe Kerrigan's base-stealing plans. Damon has indicated that he identified Boston at the beginning of the off-season as an organization he thought could use his services and seems very pleased to be a Red Sock. With some intelligent in-season moves and a minimum of health problems, the club could give the Yankees a good race for the division title. This is a great deal and potential bargain for the Red Sox.

In related news, the Sox also failed to tender a contract to Pokey Reese due to payroll concerns exacerbated by the Damon signing. The club still intends to try to work something out with the infielder, but now that he is a free agent it is likely that Reese will find a higher offer elsewhere.

Other players non-tendered by the Red Sox include OF Izzy Alcantara, C Steve Lomasney, and IF Chris Stynes, as well as pitchers Todd Erdos and Allen McDill. There are arguments to be made that support Boston's decision to let these players become free agents, however for a team with the Red Sox's resources to non-tender this many players demonstrates a general mismanagement of payroll, especially as the group includes at least one or two players that could be very useful to Boston.

Trades

The Dodgers and the Indians completed a small trade on Friday, with Cleveland sending OF Dave Roberts to LA in return for LHP Christian Bridenbaugh and LHP Nial Hughes.

Hughes strikes out over a batter an inning while severely limiting opposition hits; however he walks almost as many batters as he strikes out. If he can learn to command the strike zone, his upside could approach that of John Rocker, but he's already 24-years-old and still has some work to do before even AA.

The 22-year-old Bridenbaugh is even more raw. He's a finesse lefty starter, who doesn't give up many walks but allows too many hits. Bridenbaugh didn't pitch above low-A last year, so he still needs development time.

Neither lefty shows much promise, but Cleveland still comes out ahead in this deal. There is no reason that the Dodgers should be trading away any talent for a 29-year-old replacement level outfielder like Roberts. LA isn't even that desperate for outfield help, considering they have All-Stars in the corners and a lot of money allocated to veterans in centerfield.

While we're talking trade, I want to spend a few moments discussing the small deal between Anahiem and Tampa Bay that we skipped over earlier in the week. The Angels sent IF Wilmy Caceres to the Devil Rays in return for RHP Mickey Callaway.

At 26, Callaway has lost any prospect status he might have had, but might still have some major league potential. Right now, he's a control pitcher who gives up too many hits. However, Anahiem needs pitching help and Callaway might be ready to contribute in middle-relief. They also have little use for Caceres in their infield.

For that matter, the Devil Rays have even less use for Caceres. Their system is overcrowded with toolsy prospects including several infielders better than Wilmy. He seems to have a decent idea of where the strike zone is located as he very rarely strikes out, however he walks even less, indicating that he swings at almost every pitch thrown in his direction. Caceres is a contact hitter with a bit of speed and no power who doesn't hit well enough to get on base. He has acceptable defense at short, so he might be able to contribute to some team as a utility infielder. However, the Devil Rays should not be the team to give him playing time with the number of infielders they have who possess skills superior to Caceres. I see little to no reason the organization should have traded a pitcher with even a smidgen of potential to acquire him. Anahiem doesn't receive much in this deal, but they still come out ahead of Tampa Bay, especially since they add another Mickey to their cast.

Player News from the Lone Star State

On Tuesday, the Texas Rangers signed Herbert Perry to a one-year $900,000 contract. The Chicago White Sox traded Perry to the Rangers in late November for a PTBNL; LHP Corey Lee was announced on Monday as the PTBNL. Lee reportedly throws several promising pitches but has been unable to maintain acceptable control of the strike zone above AA. Unless Chicago's minor league coaching staff is able to correct the problem, he may start to wish he were still with the weaker pitching competition in the Ranger system. Perry still looks to share 3B with Mike Lamb until Texas prospect Hank Blalock is ready.

John Rocker, also a recent addition to the Rangers through trade, was signed to a $2.5 million one-year contract on Wednesday. Because the deal is not guaranteed, Rocker needs to make the opening day roster in order to actually see more than one-sixth of the money. Although the club may not use Rocker as their closer, I find it unlikely that he will not at least break camp with the team.

Rocker is not the only Indian pitcher to join former Cleveland GM John Hart in Texas. The Rangers signed free agent Dave Burba to a one-year, $2 million deal on Wednesday. With the players Texas currently has signed, Burba should pitch near the middle of the rotation. However, the club is not nearly finished with their off-season moves and should add more starting pitching before they are finished. LA free agent Chan Ho Park is actually expected to sign with them at any moment. As long as he keeps the gopher balls in check, Burba should be a very good signing for the Rangers.

The other Texas team has also been adding pitching. On Friday, Houston signed RHP T.J. Mathews and LHP C.J. Nitkowski. Mathews received a one-year one million dollar deal and should be one of the main components of the Astros bullpen in 2002. The reliever's contract includes appearance-based performance incentives that could raise the deal's total value to $1.8 million. Even if he fails to trigger any of the incentives, Mathews will still be overpaid. He's basically replacement-level talent and has pitched so few innings the last couple of years as to put him at risk for arm problems if he experiences the heavy usage that success normally brings.

Nitkowski's contract is only a minor league deal, but he will receive $750,000 if added to the roster. Houston will likely only add him if they think they need another lefty in the pen.