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| Guh! |
However, it's not nearly as bad as it seems for the Philadelphia Phillies, who signed the "left fielder" today.
Delmon's contract with the Phillies is for only 1 year, at a base salary of $750,000. A giant pay cut for a guy hauling in a base salary of $6.75MM last season. Not to mention, for much of the prior season, Young had his glove taken away from him (largely after his arrest in New York) and was limited to DH duties outside of National League ballparks. Quite a contrast in salary coming off a season that included being the MVP of the American League Championship Series.
But that off-the-field trouble he had last season, coupled with his seemingly wasted talent has cost him perhaps a more lucrative contract during the offseason. Aside from being a bad person,* Delmon's modest .267 batting average, his .296 on base percentage (only 20 walks last season, though that's 15 more than he had in 2011) probably prevented him from fielding more offers, maybe even from the Tigers. But this deal for the Phillies could actually work heavily in their favor.
At this rather minimal salary, Philly could hit the proverbial jackpot should he have an even miniscule improvement from the numbers he posted with the Tigers last season. If Young can keep his head in the game, post some better numbers, and even play some marginal defense, this will become the steal of the offseason for the Phillies. Sure, the "if" factor comes in here, but this is clearly a low risk/high reward signing for the team. Let's face it: if DY doesn't work out for whatever reason, it would be 100 times easier to release him at his new current salary vs the Tigers cutting him loose at his old salary. In baseball terms, $750,000 is chump change. This will be a good deal for Philly no matter what kind of year (on or off the field) Delmon has.
(*I don't REALLY know if Delmon Young is a bad person, I just go ahead and assume as much.)
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