Johnny Damon Officially Signs with Cleveland Indians

Late Wednesday night it was reported that the Cleveland Indians had reached an agreement with veteran free agent Johnny Damon.  However, yesterday morning the Indians and Damon both confirmed that nothing was official, though many believed it was only a matter of time before a deal was announced.  That announcement came last evening as the terms of Damon’s agreement with the Indians became official.

According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, Damon will receive a base salary of $1.25 million.  The 38-year-old’s contract also includes $1.4 million in performance bonuses Damon has the potential to earn.

As we examined yesterday, Damon’s contract includes several unique clauses.  The more normal of the two is Damon’s full no-trade clause.  In addition to that, Damon’s deal allows him to opt out on a specific date following Grady Sizemore’s activation from the disabled list.  The Indians are expecting Sizemore to miss another two to three months.

Basically Damon will play for the Indians until they no longer require his services.  At that point, rather than relinquish his starting role for that of a reserve player, Damon will be able to cut ties with Cleveland and jump to another team that has a more significant role to offer.

Joe Soriano broke down the agreement for both sides yesterday when word of the signing was first announced.

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

You can follow Call to the Pen on Twitter at @FSCalltothePen or like us here on Facebook.