Johnny Damon Rumors: Indians Deal Not Done Yet

Last night Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the Cleveland Indians had reached an agreement with free agent outfielder/designated hitter Johnny Damon.  Rosenthal’s source passed on specifics of the deal, but the financial terms were not announced.  However, this morning Rosenthal and other members of the media are reporting that an agreement between the Indians and Damon has yet to be reached.

While Rosenthal still expects a deal to ultimately be signed, he, Jim Bowden of ESPN and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com are all saying that nothing has been agreed upon as of yet.

Rosenthal’s initial string of tweets included the specifics of Damon’s anticipated deal with the Indians.  They are very detailed and could be the reason an agreement hasn’t been announced.  According to Rosenthal, Damon will be able to opt-out of his deal with the Indians once injured outfielder Grady Sizemore returns.  Damon’s potential deal also reportedly includes a full no-trade clause.

All of these built-in stipulations could be hampering negotiations as could financial terms of the agreement.

Basically, rather than be relegated to a lesser role once Sizemore returns, Damon would be able to leave and join a team that could offer him a more substantial role.  Not only that, but Damon would be able to choose which team he would join as a free agent, as the Indians wouldn’t be able to simply trade him to another team.

Call to the Pen staff writer Joe Soriano took a look at the potential deal this morning.

For more on the Indians, be sure to check out Wahoo’s on First.

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