MLB Scoop

Barry Bonds is still waiting for a team to get serious with him. When the San Francisco Giants cut Bonds loose at the end of last season, many expected the newly crowned Home Run King might have trouble finding a new home. His best chance was viewed to be across the bay in Oakland where Athletics GM Billy Beane might find Bonds’ historic combination of power and on-base skills irresistible. Yet so far, all 30 big league teams have resisted signing a true difference maker to their lineup. While Bonds best profiles as a DH in the American League these days, we’ll look at five teams that could use Barry the most.

New York Mets
With Moises Alou going down hurt as well as the health and performance of Carlos Delgado in question, the Mets could plug Barry into either hole in their lineup and get superior production to what they had planned to get. Bringing a player with Barry’s baggage and surly attitude into the New York market could be a recipe for public relations disaster (see Johnson, Randy). However, since Barry’s father played in New York and his idol Willie Mays made his name there, Barry might see the Mets as a natural place to finish off his career and go for home run number 800.

Atlanta Braves
While the Braves may seem like an unlikely organization to take on Barry the whole package, they could use Barry’s bat in the lineup. Having lost Andruw Jones and Edgar Renteria to free agency, the Braves are expected to suffer a drop off in offensive production. Barry could offset that by replacing Matt Diaz in the everyday lineup.

Cleveland Indians
The Indians did little to improve their team this offseason while the Tigers made big strides in an attempt to surpass them. Meanwhile, Cleveland looks ready to run David Dellucci and Franklin Gutierrez out in the corner outfield positions. Barry could provide very nice offensive protection for Victor Martinez, but either Bonds or Travis Hafner would have to get their gloves out. Bonds would likely find himself in left field.

Seattle Mariners
The Mariners are prepared to run Jose Vidro out as their everyday DH and hit Raul Ibanez third in the lineup with Adrian Beltre fourth. Bonds would look a heck of a lot better in the three hole and would improve that entire lineup in a big way. The Mariners are a team expected to take their shot at the division with pitching and defense, but plugging Barry Bonds in at designated hitter would mean a big boost in runs scored that could take the Mariners from pretenders to contenders.

Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates haven’t been a good team since Bonds left. For that reason alone, maybe they should consider bringing him back into the fold. Jason Bay, the team’s best player, resides in Bonds’ old left field position, but he could perhaps move to right field to accommodate Barry. This move would be about getting fannies in the seats more than anything else and would allow Barry to close his career out where he began it. It’s about as unlikely as can be, but worth mentioning.