Dan Johnson Returns to Rays And Other Notes

After failing to make a splash in Japan in 2009 (he hit an awful .215, although he hit enough homeruns and drew enough walks that his .792 OPS wasn’t terrible), Dan Johnson has resigned with the Tampa Bay Rays for $500,000 for 2010 on a major league contract.

This is an interesting contract, because typically guys with Johnson’s experience don’t get major league contracts.  Instead, they get minor league deals which pay them $75,000 to $100,000 pro rated for minor league service time and $650,000 to $900,000 pro rated for major league service time.  In this market, I’m surprised that Johnson would get a major league contract, even for only $500,000.

Johnson may have received a major league contract because he had an offer in hand from a Japanese team.  After his 2009 performance, I doubt any Japanese team would have been willing to pay him $500,000, but there’s a good chance one of them would have been willing to offer him $250,000 to $350,000, given that he did hit 24 HRs in only 325 at-bats in Japan last year.

Johnson’s a proven major league hitter, who had the highest OPS of any regular player in the AAA International League in 2008.  He should help the Rays as a left-handed hitting role player, and even the Rays can afford the contract they gave him.

I haven’t commented yet on Vladimir Guerrero’s $5 million one-year deal with the Rangers.  The price seems about right given Vlad’s age, career performance and poor 2009 season.  If Vlad has a bounce-back year in him, there probably isn’t a better chance of it happening than playing his home games at the Ballpark at Arlington.  It’s a great place to hit and a place where Vlad has always hit well.

My best guestimate is that the odds are slightly better than 50% that Vlad will have a  better year with the bat in 2010 than he did in 2009.

The Mets have reportedly offered Joel Pineiro a two-year $15 million deal, matching the deal Jason Marquis received from the Nationals.  On the one hand, Pineiro had a terrific almost 4-to-1 Ks-to-BBs ratio in 2009; on the other hand, his 4.4 Ks-per-nine-innings pitched rate was pretty awful.  Also worth noting is that 2009 was Pineiro’s first good season since 2003.

Pineiro wanted Randy Wolf money (three years and $29.75 million), but he was kidding himself.  Even with Wolf’s numbers inflated by pitching in Dodger Stadium, he’s a better bet going forward than Pineiro.  In fact, I think the Mets are making a mistake giving him a two year deal.  Given his fine 2009 season, he’s reasonably worth one-year and $8 or 9 million, but I think the Mets (or any other team that jumps in front of the Mets) are likely to regret that second year.

In another very small move, the Pirates have apparently reached agreement with Ryan Church for 2010.  Obviously, this isn’t a deal even likely to make the Pirates a .500 team, but for the kind of player he is, he’s a good one.  Specifically, he’s a valuable role player, because he can play all three outfield positions, plays good defense and has a career .345 on-base percentage.  A lot of teams could use a player like that coming off the bench.