Before the offseason is over, the Yankees are going to need to pick up at least one more hitter. It looks like they're going to shy away from making a huge commitment to Matt Holliday or the overrated Jason Bay. Mike Cameron and Hideki Matsui are both off the table now as well. Their are several other options out there but the most attractive players, and the only ones linked to the Yankees, are Nick Johnson and Johnny Damon.
Today we learned from Joel Sherman that the Yankees prefer Damon to Johnson. However, Damon's demands have been a little high and have forced them to consider Johnson as an option. I've made my love for the homegrown Yankee known before and I think this should be the year that the Yanks welcome him back into the fold.
The most obvious reason to choose Johnson over Damon is their contract demands. It looks like Nick the Stick could be had for a one year deal worth around six or seven million dollars. The highest currently rumored bid is the 5.5 million dollar offer the Giant have reportedly made. I have to suspect he'd be willing to take a discount to go to the World Champions, as well. On the other hand, Damon is still looking for a multiyear and it looks like he'll get at least two. In addition, his average annual salary would probably be around twice that of Johnson. For an aging Damon, I'm not completely sure its worth it.
Then their's the fact that Johnson is such a ridiculously good offensive player when healthy. The injuries have hampered him but his rate stats are excellent. In 2009 Damon had a huge contract year offensively and used that short right field porch to hit .282/.365/.489. Spending most of his year in Washington, Nick Johnson had a pretty typical year for him and hit .291/.426/.405. It should be noted that Johnson's power suffered from an injury that he should be recovered from by 2010. Despite this their wOBA's were seperated by only a couple points and when you consider their ages, Damon's is a lot more likely to go down.
Their's also another major point that has been largely ignored in this debate. A Nick Johnson signing would probably put the rest of the team in a better situation as well. If they slide Johnson in at DH it means they have an easy answer in left field with Gardner, Melky, and Jamie Hoffman all as viable options. I'm not so sure about Hoffman but I know that the other two have a good chunk of their value tied up in their defense and none of them seem like answers at DH. So, if Damon comes back it means we're going to have to deal with a mediocre to bad bat in the lineup that doesn't produce anything defensively on a regular basis.
I'll have no complaints if Damon comes back on a one or two year deal and I have some fond memories of him in pinstripes. However, Nick Johnson would be a more than suitable replacement. If he can stay healthy, which he may just be able to as the full-time DH with the Yankees medical staff, then the Yankees might find the steal of the winter in Nick Johnson this year.
