We haven’t heard much about Jim Thome since the Indians stopped pursuing him a few weeks ago, but Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com talked to the future Hall of Famer and has an update.
Basically he’d like to play this season but doesn’t have any interested teams right now, so the 42-year-old is heading to Arizona to work out and be prepared.
“My plan is to kind of stay in shape and see what happens,” Thome told Rosenthal. “If a team calls for me, mentally, I want to know I’m ready to go.”
Because he’s strictly a designated hitter and has often needed regular days off to avoid injuries Thome’s market has been limited for several years--at least compared to his production--and now that he’s shown signs of slowing down as a hitter last season the market may have totally dried up.
Which is a shame, because Thome is still an above-average hitter with power and patience, and is universally regarded as a helluva nice guy too. If he wants to play a 23nd season I’d love to see him land a part-time gig, but it’s not looking likely.