Thome returning to Phillies
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Thome returning to Phillies
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
It was no secret that Jim Thome wanted to return to Philadelphia last year at the trade deadline in an effort to win a World Series title because it is the one thing he has not been able to do during his illustrious career.
Instead, he ended up going from the Minnesota Twins to the Cleveland Indians and took a final bow in the place where his career started.
Now, the 41-year-old slugger is going to get his shot at the title with the Phillies.
A baseball source confirmed a story on the team's web site Friday night that Thome has signed a one-year contract with the Phillies.
Thome, who hit his 600th career home run last season with the Twins, will provide the Phillies with a left-handed bat off the bench and could see some significant time at first base early in the season while his former replacement Ryan Howard recovers from the Achilles' tendon surgery he had last month.
The exact timetable for Howard's return is unknown. Thome, for the record, has only played 28 innings in the field since leaving Philadelphia in a trade with the Chicago White Sox after the 2005 season.
You can read more about Thome's return in Saturday's Philadelphia Inquirer.
Poll: Is signing Thome a good move?
Who said baseball acn't afford cronyism ? I liked Thome - 10 years ago. Maybe they can let him use the Phanatic's tricyle to get around the bases if he gets a hit. How much Geritol does he get in his contract ?
Go out and get players that are still living, Ruben !— candidly- Love it! Thome steps in while Ryan is out, then is the lefty bat off the bench and dh in AL parks. More importantly, he is a good guy and a good influence on teammates. I can see him getting 200+ ab's.— MrPhillie
- Perhaps RAJ the magician can now find a way to acquire Prince Fielder and dump most of Howard's contract. Rollins is already gone--see if this prediction is not correct!— orange rhino
- -the great white homie
- Interesting tidbit from this past season: Howard--1 homerun per 16.9 at-bats. Thome--1 homerun per 18.5 at-bats. Not much difference. I'm not saying they are on par overall, but their numbers aren't that much different.— Penfold18
- ..love thome. glad he's back. on par with a healthy howard? put the pipe down.
- This is the type of deal a pre Pat Gillick Phillie GM would have made - a relatively cheap over-the-hill veteran...................RAJ must have learned more from Ed Wade than Pat Gillick.— sonnybuoy01
- Exactly. Gillick's moves built the World Series team. This is not a move Gillick would make.
I like Thome but if you're realistic, he's an AL DH and that's it. He's never had good PH numbers and he hasn't played the field in years. Plus he's a big swing/big strikeout guy which doesn't exactly hammer home any sort of new hitting approach.
Maybe we should just call The Bull out of the BBQ pit for a few PH appearances during the season.
— s
