Future Hall of Famer Jim Thome weighing offers by the Rangers and Twins......

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Thome, Rangers are mutual-aid prospects

Posted Thursday, Jan. 13, 2011


Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/0...s-are-mutual-aid-prospects.html#ixzz1AzIZ8jUH

By Gil LeBreton
glebreton@ star-telegram.com

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According to the pundits, the Boston Red Sox might have "won" December's baseball winter meetings.
But the Texas Rangers are dancing auspiciously at the after-party, in case the rest of the American League hasn't noticed.
And if reasonable sense prevails, the Rangers' off-season dance floor is about to get a little more crowded.
In his long and distinguished major-league career -- 20 seasons -- Jim Thome has earned a total of $138,461,667, according to the web site baseball-reference.com.
And yet, we hear, he is teetering on the edge of short-term free-agent offers from the Rangers and Minnesota Twins.
Surely, his decision can't be about the money. What can a guy buy for $140 million that he can't buy for 139?
Thome signed a one-year deal with the Twins last season for $1.5 million, with performance bonuses based upon his number of plate appearances. He ended up with 276 official at-bats, a .283 batting average and 25 home runs.
By any standard, it was an outstanding season, especially for a then-39-year-old with chronic back troubles.
Given those results, it's easy to see why Thome wants to swing the bat for another season. He stands only 11 from the 600-home run mark.
Thome has always hit. His left-handed presence would balance and enhance any American League team's lineup.
But he is a designated hitter these days, no longer a nimble-footed first baseman. A search on Google, in fact, for the terms "Jim Thome" and "sore back" turned up 8,710 references.
His agent, as reported, might have salivated at the one-year, $8 million, free-agent contract that Lance Berkman signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. Berkman, however, is six years younger. His option with the Yankees would have paid him $15 million this season, constraining the size of any paycut he was going to receive.
In real estate terms, free agents Thome and Berkman are not comparables this season.
Better neighborhood reference points: Baltimore's Luke Scott, $4.05 million; Oakland's Hideki Matsui, $4.25 million; Seattle's Jack Cust, $2.5 million; Toronto's Adam Lind, $5 million, and for the team that Thome hit for last season, the Twins, Jason Kubel, $5.25 million.
Where those numbers fit within the Rangers' offer to Thome is uncertain. A one-year contract, again with incentives based upon plate appearances, would seem to make the most sense.
And why should Jim Thome, future Hall of Famer, be interested in that?
Because in 1997, playing with the Cleveland Indians, Thome was two outs from winning the World Series. And he hasn't been back to the World Series since.
The 2011 Rangers can get him there. And vice versa. And the Rangers are going to have a better chance of getting him there than the Twins.
Why drag this out over a couple of million dollars?
Rangers fans know all about Thome. If he hit 25 homers last season with Target Field as his home park, he's going to feel 10 years younger hitting in Rangers Ballpark.
Of course, alas, the Rangers already have somebody penciled in to be a designated hitter. Thome would be sharing at-bats with Michael Young.
I winced when I typed that. I know, I know, Michael Young is "a ballplayer's ballplayer." Michael is "all about the team." Michael "only wants to win."
But in all the other moves and signings, including the recent acquisition of Adrian Beltre to play third, Young was only being asked to switch positions. By signing Thome, Young might be losing some at-bats.
Wince.
How good is manager Ron Washington at arithmetic? Somehow, he would have to make the most of about 1,500 plate appearances from a tandem of Young, Thome and, probably, first baseman Mitch Moreland.
If one of the regular infielders gets hurt, Young likely would become the experienced stand-in. Thome, meanwhile, would be platooned against lefties.
All three probably wouldn't get 600 at-bats, but that would be Professor Washington's nightly math homework.
Beltre's addition makes Vladimir Guerrero unnecessary. Thome's left-handed bat, on the other hand, would bring a potent balance to the Rangers' lineup against righties.
No, the Rangers don't need Thome. But adding him -- to the lineup and to the clubhouse -- is what winning teams do.
After $138 million, it can't possibly be about the money. It's about the long, fun ride to October. And the seat that's waiting for Jim Thome.


Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/0...s-are-mutual-aid-prospects.html#ixzz1AzIFFSiZ
 

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