Tribe, Nixon agree on one-year deal
Veteran brings leadership, playoff experience to outfield
By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com
MLB Headlines
• Cubs' Samardzija commits to baseball
• Nixon signs one-year deal with Indians
• Andruw wants to finish career in Atlanta
• Braves finalize deal for Bucs' Gonzalez |
• Tigers aware of expectations for 2007
• Chacon avoids salary arbitration with Bucs
• Complete Hot Stove coverage
• Rays reportedly release pitcher Mori
• More MLB Headlines
• Nixon's career statistics
• Deal's fantasy impact
• Indians Free Agent Tracker
• Indians ticket info
• Complete Hot Stove coverage
CLEVELAND -- The company line was that the Indians' roster was set and ready for Spring Training. As it turns out, the club will be trotting out one more player.
The Indians announced Friday afternoon that they have reached an agreement with free-agent outfielder Trot Nixon on a one-year, $3 million contract, giving the team a more veteran presence in right field. To make room for Nixon on the 40-man roster, the Tribe designated pitcher Jeremy Guthrie for assignment.
"The addition of Trot Nixon not only gives our club another quality outfielder who excels against right-handed pitching, but it gives our team another veteran presence with championship experience and adds to the overall depth of our organization and Major League club for 2007," said Tribe general manager Mark Shapiro in announcing the move.
Nixon has spent his entire career with the Red Sox, the club that took him with the seventh overall pick in the 1993 First-Year Player Draft. He had been Boston's starting right fielder the past eight seasons, but the team is expected to replace him with J.D. Drew.
The 32-year-old Nixon's heart and hustle are unquestioned. What is questioned at this stage in his career is his ability to hit for power and stay healthy.
After clubbing a career-high 28 home runs in 2003, Nixon has hit just 27 homers over the past three years -- a span of 838 at-bats.
A hard-nosed player who isn't afraid to run into walls or dive for balls, Nixon has exposed his body to injury and paid the price with multiple stints on the disabled list in recent years. Most notably, he missed all but 48 games of the '04 season because of a herniated disk in his back and a strained left quadriceps.
In 2006, Nixon missed more than a month of action with a right biceps strain. For the season, he hit .268 with eight homers and 52 RBIs in 114 games.
For his career, Nixon, a left-handed hitter, has compiled a .366 on-base percentage and .478 slugging percentage, while batting .278 with 133 homers and 523 RBIs. He has a keen eye at the plate, striking out only 115 times the past two seasons. In the field, Nixon's ability to read the ball off the bat helps to offset his average speed.
With the addition of Nixon, the Indians give their youthful lineup a playoff-tested commodity.
In the 2004 World Series, Nixon hit .357, and his two-run triple in Game 4 provided the final runs of the sweep of the Cardinals. In Game 3 of the 2003 Division Series against the A's, his pinch-hit, two-run homer in extra innings spared the Red Sox from elimination in a series they went on to win.
The signing of Nixon presents a clear hurdle to Shin-Soo Choo, who had been regarded as the favorite to get regular starts in right field this season.
The 24-year-old Choo, acquired in the July trade that sent Ben Broussard to the Mariners, batted .280 with three homers and 22 RBIs in 49 games over the last two months of the season. Now, he'll have to battle for a roster spot in what has become a crowded Indians outfield.
David Dellucci, Jason Michaels, Grady Sizemore and Casey Blake are all in the big-league outfield mix. Nixon has a history of struggling against left-handed pitching, so it's possible the club would continue with its plan to give Blake the starts in right against southpaws.
Nixon is the sixth free-agent acquisition by the Indians this winter, joining Dellucci and relievers Joe Borowski, Keith Foulke, Aaron Fultz and Roberto Hernandez.
Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Veteran brings leadership, playoff experience to outfield
By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com
Trot Nixon has a career .366 on-base percentage in 982 Major League games. (Jim Mone/AP)
MLB Headlines
• Nixon signs one-year deal with Indians
• Andruw wants to finish career in Atlanta
• Braves finalize deal for Bucs' Gonzalez |
• Tigers aware of expectations for 2007
• Chacon avoids salary arbitration with Bucs
• Complete Hot Stove coverage
• Rays reportedly release pitcher Mori
• More MLB Headlines
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if ((ran_number == "undefined") || (ran_number == null)) { var ran_unrounded = Math.random()*1000000000; var ran_number = Math.round(ran_unrounded); } document.write(""); document.write(""); • Deal's fantasy impact
• Indians Free Agent Tracker
• Indians ticket info
• Complete Hot Stove coverage
CLEVELAND -- The company line was that the Indians' roster was set and ready for Spring Training. As it turns out, the club will be trotting out one more player.
The Indians announced Friday afternoon that they have reached an agreement with free-agent outfielder Trot Nixon on a one-year, $3 million contract, giving the team a more veteran presence in right field. To make room for Nixon on the 40-man roster, the Tribe designated pitcher Jeremy Guthrie for assignment.
"The addition of Trot Nixon not only gives our club another quality outfielder who excels against right-handed pitching, but it gives our team another veteran presence with championship experience and adds to the overall depth of our organization and Major League club for 2007," said Tribe general manager Mark Shapiro in announcing the move.
Nixon has spent his entire career with the Red Sox, the club that took him with the seventh overall pick in the 1993 First-Year Player Draft. He had been Boston's starting right fielder the past eight seasons, but the team is expected to replace him with J.D. Drew.
The 32-year-old Nixon's heart and hustle are unquestioned. What is questioned at this stage in his career is his ability to hit for power and stay healthy.
After clubbing a career-high 28 home runs in 2003, Nixon has hit just 27 homers over the past three years -- a span of 838 at-bats.
A hard-nosed player who isn't afraid to run into walls or dive for balls, Nixon has exposed his body to injury and paid the price with multiple stints on the disabled list in recent years. Most notably, he missed all but 48 games of the '04 season because of a herniated disk in his back and a strained left quadriceps.
In 2006, Nixon missed more than a month of action with a right biceps strain. For the season, he hit .268 with eight homers and 52 RBIs in 114 games.
For his career, Nixon, a left-handed hitter, has compiled a .366 on-base percentage and .478 slugging percentage, while batting .278 with 133 homers and 523 RBIs. He has a keen eye at the plate, striking out only 115 times the past two seasons. In the field, Nixon's ability to read the ball off the bat helps to offset his average speed.
With the addition of Nixon, the Indians give their youthful lineup a playoff-tested commodity.
In the 2004 World Series, Nixon hit .357, and his two-run triple in Game 4 provided the final runs of the sweep of the Cardinals. In Game 3 of the 2003 Division Series against the A's, his pinch-hit, two-run homer in extra innings spared the Red Sox from elimination in a series they went on to win.
The signing of Nixon presents a clear hurdle to Shin-Soo Choo, who had been regarded as the favorite to get regular starts in right field this season.
The 24-year-old Choo, acquired in the July trade that sent Ben Broussard to the Mariners, batted .280 with three homers and 22 RBIs in 49 games over the last two months of the season. Now, he'll have to battle for a roster spot in what has become a crowded Indians outfield.
David Dellucci, Jason Michaels, Grady Sizemore and Casey Blake are all in the big-league outfield mix. Nixon has a history of struggling against left-handed pitching, so it's possible the club would continue with its plan to give Blake the starts in right against southpaws.
Nixon is the sixth free-agent acquisition by the Indians this winter, joining Dellucci and relievers Joe Borowski, Keith Foulke, Aaron Fultz and Roberto Hernandez.
Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
