[UPDATE by Evan, 9:00 PM] The Associated Press is reporting that the Mike Cameron deal is done. It’s two years in the range of $15.5 million, according to Ken Rosenthal. I think it’s a fantastic deal. Cameron has 20-home run pop while providing tremendous defense. It’s unknown whether Cameron will patrol left or center. This makes Jeremy Hermida the fourth outfielder.
[ORIGINAL, 8:12 PM] According to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick, the Red Sox are deep into discussions with free agent outfielder Mike Cameron. The two sides have reportedly made “significant progress” towards a two-year deal. Should he sign, Cameron is expected to man left field for the Sox, pushing the recently acquired Jeremy Hermida to the bench and effectively ending the team’s run at either Matt Holliday or Jason Bay.
Cameron, who will turn 37 in January, would be an interesting corner outfield signing by a championship caliber team the likes of the Red Sox. As a corner outfielder, Cameron’s value lies mostly in his fielding, registering a 10.0 UZR in 2009, versus his .250/.342/.452 line, which falls short for an offensive corner outfielder.
The signing, should it occur, would be quite symbolic for a league transitioning toward the widespread adoption of statistical metrics. Such a move would be quite the show of confidence in UZR ratings, which are notoriously inconsistent from year to year – with equally questionable positional transitions.
While it would be rational to assume that Cameron would be a better left fielder than center fielder against the league average, there is no guarantee that the transition to a better fielding environment would offset the raised offensive standards. Even so, the signing of Mike Cameron would be a prudent move by a team low on financial flexibility – a player who is, arguably, every bit as valuable as high-cost options Jason Bay and Matt Holliday.