From Yankees World Series MVP in early November to gone 11 days before Christmas. That’s the road Hideki Matsui has traveled.
According to several sources, Matsui and the Angels have agreed to a one-year deal worth $6.5 million that will be finalized when the 35-year-old slugger passes a physical.
“I can confirm that we are in serious discussions with the Angels,” agent Arn Tellem said last night. “I have no further comment.”
If Matsui passes the physical, not a slam dunk considering he has undergone off-season surgery on each knee in the last two winters, the Yankees will be faced with filling a productive hole in the middle of their order.
Through Tellem, Matsui recently informed the Yankees he didn’t want to wait to see what the club did with fellow free agent Johnny Damon. The Yankees informed Tellem that DH wasn’t as high a priority as improving the pitching staff — starter or reliever — or left field.
Fearful of being left without a team, Matsui turned to the Angels, who will not bring back DH Vladimir Guerrero.
Matsui’s departure impacts several fronts in the Yankees’ universe. Across his seven pinstriped seasons he batted .292 and was solid in the clutch. Last year he hit .274 with 28 homers and 90 RBIs and .302 with runners in scoring position. He then went 8-for-13 (.615) with three homers and eight RBIs despite starting just three games. He tied a World Series mark with six RBIs in the clinching Game 6 victory.
As it turns out, Matsui’s last performance was his best. Last week at the Winter Meetings, Angels GM Tony Reagins was lukewarm when asked his interest in Matsui, who didn’t play an inning in the outfield this past season because of his surgically repaired knees.
Appealing to the Angels is that Matsui believes he can play the outfield, something the Yankees publicly said he wouldn’t do if he returned to The Bronx, where he spent seven seasons in which he appeared in the World Series in the first (2003) and last (2009) with much different results.
As much as the Yankees loved Matsui’s production and popularity in the clubhouse, they have concerns his knees won’t hold up as well as they did this past season when the left hinge had to be drained twice.
And GM Brian Cashman has explained that improving the pitching staff and finding a left fielder are priorities over filling the DH spot.
So, who will take over for Matsui? Damon would be the best option but that situation is going nowhere fast. Cashman said last week he wouldn’t be afraid of promoting Juan Miranda, a left-handed hitter, from Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre.
And the Yankees want to use Jorge Posada more as the DH and filter in Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter.