Barry Bonds is still unemployed at this moment. This week there has been a lot of speculation that the Tampa Bay Rays may have interest in signing the all-time leader in home runs. I have to say that most people would find that to be a shocking move, but I don’t necessarily believe it’s a bad one for the Rays or Bonds.
I don’t think that Bonds can be too picky here. There are not a lot of teams out there who want a 43-old outfielder who may be arguably the most hated man in the history of baseball, an alleged “cheater,” and a one-year rental at most . Much less, it remains to be seen if Bonds will make it through a season because he is currently facing perjury charges and finishing the season in jail is a possibility at this point.
Bonds can still hit 40 home runs and playing in a hitters ballpark like Tropicana Field only makes that more likely. If he plays next year, it is almost certainly going to be for an A.L. team where he would DH. Then he could totally concentrate on just knocking the ball out of the park, even though I’m pretty sure he’s probably been doing that for the last three seasons or so.
Many would argue that signing Bonds would be terrible for team chemistry. I don’t totally disagree with that based on his past, but I think that if he is lucky enough to sign to play one more season that he has been scared straight and may not be Cal Ripken Jr. in the clubhouse, but will be a positive presence overall. While it has yet to be factually proven that he has cheated, at this point, no one can argue that Bonds is not one of the all-time greats. Tampa has struggled as the last expansion team that Major League Baseball has added about a decade ago and could use the star power of Bonds as inspiration for their very young club and its players. Tampa is expected to finish higher than last place this year, and adding Bonds would only likely add to their chances of doing that. Adding Bonds would also show that Tampa is willing to do what it takes to field a winning team and may make them more attractive to potential free agents in the future.
I think he’s worth about 6 million for one year and if nothing else he should put a lot more people in the seats of a ballpark that is so desperate to get people to come in, they allow you to bring your own food in and the parking is free? Shocking, I know. What’s the worst that can happen, the team finishes in last place AGAIN this season? I don’t really understand why Bonds wants to play one more year other than to add a few more home runs to his total? Unless he signs with the Red Sox or Yankees, I think he’s accepted that he isn’t going to leave with a world championship, if he wanted one of those, he should have went to the Yankees back when they would have loved to have him during his last free agency period. Finishing with the Rays, is no bigger deal than a lot of players who play one or two more seasons with a totally irrelevant team, so maybe Bonds just wants to play the game a bit longer like a lot of athletes? If he doesn’t sign with the Rays, I have the feeling that the Yankees will sign him as a DH at some point.
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