Johnny Damon signs with the Cleveland Indians

This morning it was announced that Johnny Damon signed a one year contract with the Cleveland Indians. I have always been a Johnny Damon fan, and I appreciate the skill with which the Indians have been run as a Sabremetrics team with the help of Keith Woolner for many years. However, I can not see how this makes sense from any perspective except Damon has found a team with such a large void that he will get a chance to play.

I am also surprised that Damon is coming to the Indians as a left fielder. He has not regularly played in the field since 2009, and it was my understanding that other teams were really looking at him as a designated hitter. Damon can still hit with a .261 with a .743 OPS last year with the Rays. There no doubt he can still run with 19 successful steals out of 25 attempts last year. However, he is 38 years old and playing the outfield is not a short sprint to the next base but constant and continual movement over the course of an inning.

Maybe the Indians are just trying to fill the hole they have in left field any way they can or they see something in Damon that no one else does. The Indians are really good are seeing things other people miss. The Johnny Damon fan in me hopes it is more than that. I wish Demon Damon a great year.