Athletics general manager Billy Beane indicated earlier this week that he’d like to go younger with the DH spot next season, which means that Hideki Matsui will almost certainly be playing elsewhere next season. His search for a job may lead him to an interesting place: the National League.
Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts was told by Tony Jackson of ESPN Los Angeles via email that Matsui is among at least three names the Dodgers are considering as a left-handed bat off the bench.
Matsui, 37, has spent all nine of his MLB seasons in the American League. He is coming off the worst season of his career, though, hitting just .251/.321/.375 with 12 homers and a .696 OPS in 141 games.
There are plenty of one-dimensional aging DH-types available this winter, including Vladimir Guerrero, Johnny Damon and, yes, even Manny Ramirez, so with Matsui’s skills in decline, a bench job might be the best he can do. We probably wouldn’t see him in the outfield much due to his knees, but he did play 27 games in left field with Oakland this past season.
