Nov
25
Yanks sign outfielder Jon Weber to a minor league deal
ByVia Ken Davidoff, the Yanks have signed outfielder Jon Weber to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training. Weber, 31 in January, hit .302-.382-.497 with Triple-A Durham last year, mostly playing rightfield. The poor guy has been stuck in the minors since 1999 (and in Triple-A since 2004), but he’s never spent a day in the big leagues.
Think of him as this year’s John Rodriguez.
45 Comments»
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I like it as a low-risk move. If you get some sort of production, great. If you don’t, oh well.
Cool!!! Get Rock Jr. (Raines) and forget Holliday outside of Coors Park, Cameron and the rest. Give them hungry ones a shot
This is AAA depth, nothing more.
Good move, it will definitely add some depth.
On a side note: I hope his streak of not being in the majors continues this season.
I kinda hoped the Yanks would also sign Dewayne Wise. He can’t hit at all but he can defend really really well. Could have good for depth.
And I forgot to add that the Phils signed on a minor league deal today
I thought he was in Miami?
http://instantcrickets.com/
what happened to last year’s john Rodriguez
He said, “screw this baseball crap,” moved to Ontario and is now mayor of Sudbury. No need to fret, though, he hangs out with Raul Mondesi in the off-season.
http://www.city.greatersudbury.....urrID=1060
Mondesi’s good people.
A tip of the cap to you, good sir.
could also be a duncan replacement in AAA
on that note, I wish shelley all the best. I hope he gets a chance to at least play a role somewhere. He could have been a nice bat off the bench/occasional RF spot player for the Yankees, but they just couldn’t use a roster spot for another DH, OF, 1B.
WTF!? MICHAEL KAY?
Sick move. # 28 is in the bag.
On the day the Red Sox get Tug Hulett, the Yankees sign Jon Weber. Take that RED SUX0Rs!1!1!!!! We gots our own World Cup participant.
I don’t want to be too bold, but I think this could be the answer to Boston chasing Halladay & Cabrera.
The baseball cube says that he was originally signed as an undrafted free agent. I thought all Americans had to be drafted?
I need answers, Axisa. Please help!!!
http://www.thebaseballcube.com.....eber.shtml
You disappoint me, Andy. If a guy is out of college eligibility and wasn’t drafted, he’s a free agent. Jon Hovis was a UDFA, so was Matt DeSalvo.
Ohh. So I’m free to sign with any team then? Whew.
That’s pretty funny when you think about it.
I thought San Diego drafted some guy when he was like 28 a couple of years ago? Do you have to have gone to college or could you be a 23 year-old wunderkind, who took up baseball at a late age?
Power: 74
Power: 66
Speed: 51
Contact: 51
Patience: 68
Not bad for a filler I guess
The guy is fodder, plain and simple. That said, best of luck Jon Weber!
Yea, I know. He’s been playing with the Venados de Mazatlan of the Mexican Winter League. In 15 games he’s hitting .455/.471/.682 with 3 HR and 19 RBI.
Babe Fucking Ruth reincarnated.
The baseball cube says that he was originally signed as an undrafted free agent. I thought all Americans had to be drafted?
I’m American and I wasn’t drafted by any of the 30 MLB teams last year.
I guess some of us manage to slip through. I’m currently weighing FA offers.
Hence the AARP add???
Speaking of depth, I sure wouldn’t mind a minor league offer to Mark Prior. What do you guys think?
[...] levels, so Weber is exactly the kind of guy the Yankees need to sign to a minor league deal. River Ave. Blues called him this year’s John Rodriguez, and it’s a pretty solid [...]
[...] levels, so Weber is exactly the kind of guy the Yankees need to sign to a minor league deal. River Ave. Blues called him this year’s John Rodriguez, and it’s a pretty solid [...]
Not saying he’d be a star or anything, but looking at his numbers, I’m wondering why he didnt even get a sniff at the ML level, even as a September callup…
Thank you for saying exactly what I was thinking.
An OF with no power. His defense probably isn’t good enough to make up for that deficiency. If he played a passable CF he might have gotten the call, though looking at the teams he’s bounced from, he’s been behind some pretty solid CFers.
I should add no HR power for a corner. He does hit a decent amount of XBH
Jon is a great guy and excellent clutch hitter. Jon only problem is that he is older. Rays just do not like older players. I have always thought so and had a friend who played for the Rockies then Durham on the trade for 3 years then left baseball since he knew he was not going to get a cal back up from Tampa. I was also speaking with the GM of the AAA Bulls a few weeks ago who begrudgingly admitted that was the case. Jon did great in the World Cup and he should be able to perform at the majors level. I can not stand the Yankees but they have got a good guy in Jon Weber.
Why would this guy come to the Yankees? Wouldn’t he go to some team that he had an outside shot with?
Weber played mostly left field for the Durham Bulls, not right field. He became quite adept at playing caroms off the “Blue Monster” and throwing out guys at second who thought that they had easy doubles.
Weber is a classic gamer. He was certainly the Bulls’ MVP last year, is a great clubhouse guy, and is seldom injured. He was on pace to threaten the modern AAA season record for doubles.
Weber probably isn’t a big-league candidate, but the Yanks will love having him in SWB. He’ll be missed in Durham, where he became a fan favorite.
Roughly in this range according to the MLE Calculator:
.260/.330/.430
Certainly better than replacement level as a hitter, that’s for sure.
[...] levels, so Weber is exactly the kind of guy the Yankees need to sign to a minor league deal. River Ave. Blues called him this year’s John Rodriguez, and it’s a pretty solid [...]
[...] by saying he was legit big league CF with speed, good instincts and a strong arm. Much like the Jon Weber signing, this is just a depth move. He’s actually got a slight reverse split for his career, so [...]
Jon is a stud and has been his whole career. Why he has never had a shot at the big league level is strange. If the yanks give him a shot at that field they will be so happy that they found another huge power source for their lineup. Jon would go off at the new yankee stadium. You’ll see!! I hope.
Yes Weber is a great guy! You are going to love him in Scranton or in New York. He always batted at or near the top of the order in Durham. This should tell you what a guy he is. I made a huge 20 X 30 poster print of David Price, Reid Brignac, and Weber when all of them were playing in Durham last year. I asked him to sign it which he did and then he wanted me to make him a copy which I was glad to do. He has some definite pop in his bat and he is a great guy with the fans. They are going to miss his presence in Durham but I am glad that he is getting a chance with someone else. I am sure that he will receive quite a reception when he returns to Durham.
Missed opportunity.