Johnny Damon Added To Indians’ 25-Man Roster

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It’s not immediately apparent that Hoynes has a source for this information, or is merely speculating. But he’s close to the organization so I suspect is closer to the former than the latter.

It’s hard to say if Damon is “ready” to hit major-league pitching; instead of working with one of the Indians’ minor-league clubs, he’s been getting his at-bats in extended spring training.

The rumors have now been made official; Johnny Damon is a Cleveland Indian:

The physical is likely a formality, since Damon was reported to have been working out all winter expecting to join a team. Since he did not have any competition in spring games, though, the Tribe likely wants him to face some live pitching, which he’ll do in extended-spring-training games.

Scott Boras was right, darnitall:

ESPN’s Buster Olney heard from Scott Boras today and quoted the agent as saying that Johnny “Damon will be signed by May 1st; just don’t know where.“With the announcement that Johnny Damon is close to signing a deal with the Cleveland Indians, Boras beat that “deadline” by more than two weeks, although it still might be a few more days before Damon is actually playing baseball in Cleveland:

Not so fast, everybody.

The news comes from Ken Rosenthal, who adds that Damon is being used to offset the loss of Grady Sizemore.

Damon spent most of his time as a designated hitter with the Rays, appearing in 150 of 162 games in 2011. During those 150 games, Damon hit .261 with 16 home runs and 73 RBI. Despite his age, he was a solid enough contributor for the Rays, though nothing more than a short-term solution.