Johnny Damon called into Mike Francesa's show Friday afternoon. The crux of the interview was how despite rumblings of his desire for a four-year deal, Damon told his agent, Scott Boras, that he'd be happy with a two-year pact to remain a Yankee.
"When I told Scott, right after the World Series, was I want two years with New York," Damon told Francesa on WFAN. "Four would be great, 10 would be better, but two years is what we want. I told him two years at $11 (million) per, a slight pay cut. The Yankees didn't start talking until the Nick Johnson thing was going on. They said two years at seven, we said two years at 10."
Johnson agreed to a one-year, $5.5 million contract to return to the Yankees on December 23, 2009. Once talks broke off between Damon and the Yankees, Randy Winn agreed to a one-year deal for the team's allotted $2 million to be anything from a fourth outfielder to the everyday guy in left.
Does Damon regret not taking two years for $7 million to stay in the place he loves?
"At the time, no," Damon said. "Right now we're standing pretty good. We're in talks with a few other teams right now (the A's, Rays, Tigers, Blue Jays, Braves and Reds are among rumored interested parties). Other teams are able to get more creative because of the AAV (annual average value), which means whatever salary I would hold would cost the Yankees more in luxury tax.
"I'm OK with it. I talked to Hal (Steinbrenner), Cash (Brian Cashman) and Randy Levine. We had great conversations, discussed it, and I'm not ruling out not being in New York, whether I start the season with them or if they trade for me at the deadline or sign me next year. I love New York."
Both Damon and Brian Cashman expressed similar sentiments during their discussions with SI.com's Jon Heyman. Can Damon make his way back to the Bronx? Never say never in baseball.
"You never know," Cashman told the Web site. "The Yankees like players who can help us win."
In other happenings, Xavier Nady is officially a Chicago Cub. And if you haven't seen it yet, Kimberly Jones conducted an exclusive interview with Alex Rodriguez from Miami, a chat that aired on Yankees Hot Stove. We'll have more highlights that didn't make the show later on.
