5 BOROUGH SPORTS

(MLB.com) The Yankees announced Monday that they have signed right-handed-hitting outfielder Marcus Thames to a Minor League contract, inviting him and 19 other non-roster players — including top catching prospect Jesus Montero — to Spring Training. Winn and Thames will battle Brett Gardner for the starting left-field job vacated by departed free agent Johnny Damon. The Yankees could also choose to platoon the left-handed-hitting Gardner with Winn, Thames or some combination of the two.

This is fantastic! I’ve always loved Thames and was sincerely upset when we traded him for Ruben Sierra. Given the fact I witnessed Marcus’ first Major League home run on his first career at-bat against the Big Unit, I will always be a Marcus Thames fan. He also adds some fire into the starting left-field competition. If opening day was tomorrow, Winn would obviously start in left. But if Thames has a strong performance in Tampa, he might find his way starting come April. I like Gardner but as a fourth outfielder. Give him a spot start every once in a while, but other than that, use him as a pinch runner and for defensive purposes late in the game. I will also give Cashman a lot of credit for yet another outstanding offseason. Did we acquire a big time free-agent? No. But did we acquire the players we needed to fix a few holes? Definitely. Now let’s get back to the WHOAAAHHH guy so we can get PUMPED for some spring training!!

This entry was posted on February 9, 2010 at 10:29 am and is filed under Yankees. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.