Johnny Damon

Yankees manager Joe Girardi acknowledged Johnny Damon as a player they could potentially pursue at designated hitter.

”Johnny has been a great player for a long time,” Girardi said. “There’s been a bunch of names talked about, and they?re all good players. Obviously, we know what Johnny and [Hideki Matsui] have meant to this organization. I can?t tell you it’s going to be one of those guys, but we know they know how to play here.” Damon, 38, batted .261 with 16 homers and 73 RBI this for the Rays past season. He has received little interest on the open market.

Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun writes that the Orioles aren’t motivated to pursue Johnny Damon.

Damon looked like a real possibility for the O’s just a couple of days ago, but they don’t have a huge need at designated hitter after signing Wilson Betemit this week. The Tigers just signed Prince Fielder to a mega-contract, so a return to Detroit appears to be a longshot. While the Yankees can’t be ruled out, they appear content to wait things out.

Johnny Damon said Tuesday that he would be open to a returning to the Tigers in 2012.

Detroit needs a replacement at DH after losing Victor Martinez for the year to an ACL tear. And Damon would be open to talking about filling that vacancy. “I have interest knowing that I loved playing there and they are a team built to win,” he told the Free Press on Tuesday. The 38-year-old batted .261/.326/.418 with 16 homers and 73 RBI in 150 games last season for Tampa Bay.

Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com reports that the Tigers “are indeed pursuing” Johnny Damon.

Morosi says Damon is a “stronger possibility” for the Tigers than Derrek Lee, who has also been mentioned as an option. Damon, who batted .271/.355/.401 with eight homers and 11 steals in 2010 for Detroit, would be able to help out in the DH slot with the loss of Victor Martinez and also can play some left field should the Tigers choose to use Delmon Young as a DH, as well.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Johnny Damon “badly” wants to rejoin the Yankees, but the team is “not set on any one DH type.”

Sherman also notes that the Yanks will wait for their deals for Michael Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda to be finalized before they make any other moves. Damon could also potentially be an option for the Tigers, and the Orioles have come interest, as well. The 38-year-old batted .261/.326/.418 with 16 homers, 73 RBI and 19 stolen bases for the Rays in 2011.

During an appearance Wednesday on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM, Tigers manager Jim Leyland said that Johnny Damon’s name will “likely come up” as a possible replacement for Victor Martinez as the club’s designated hitter.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that the Yankees have talked to Johnny Damon about possibly being their designated hitter.

Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York reported previously that Damon and the Yanks could be a fit, and evidently the team’s brass agrees with him. Damon probably wouldn’t play every day, and he’d likely have to settle for a deal well under the $5.25 million he earned in 2011. He had a pretty decent year with the Rays last season, batting .261/.326/.418 with 16 homers, 73 RBI and 19 stolen bases.

Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York was told by a source that if the Yankees do add a hitter, it will be at the “right price in a late deal.”

In other words, don’t expect them to make a run at Prince Fielder. Marchand floats the names of former Yankees Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui as possibilities for semi-regular DH duty, though it’s not clear at this point if the team has interest in either. He also notes that the Yanks are likely to give Alex Rodriguez a day or two per week in the DH slot, and that Derek Jeter could spend some time there, as well.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that the Orioles “appear to have some interest” in free agent outfielder/designated hitter Johnny Damon.

Heyman mentioned the Orioles, along with the Mariners and A’s, Thursday as possibly being players for the veteran. O’s manager Buck Showalter has said that he doesn’t want a full-time DH in 2012, so Damon would seem to fit what they’re looking for as someone capable of still playing the outfield (though not well). Damon batted .261/.326/.418 with 16 homers, 73 RBI, 19 stolen bases last year for the Rays, whose interest in re-signing him likely was eliminated by the acquisition of Luke Scott.