Players Named By Mitchell Still Jobless

June 11, 2008 -- These are tough times for unemployed players named in the Mitchell report trying to find work in baseball, whether they happen to be a home run king such as Barry Bonds or a 31-year-old such as Jay Gibbons or an extra outfielder, such as Nook Logan.

The agent for Bonds says that no team is interested in his client -- not even for a minimum salary -- and the circumstances for the lack of offers make him "suspicious."

Gibbons sent a letter to all 30 teams last month asking for a chance in the form of a minor league contract. He even went so far as to offer to donate his salary to charity. But he has been offered no opportunities.

Logan, linked to former New York Mets batboy Kirk Radomski on Page 229 of the Mitchell report, is still out of baseball, at age 28, despite having 56 steals and a .268 batting average in 321 games with the Detroit Tigers and Washington Nationals.

Last week, Bonds pleaded not guilty in federal court to 15 counts of lying under oath and obstruction of justice, and his trial date was set for March 2009, so his case likely would not interfere with a playing schedule this summer. But Bonds remains unemployed.

"I've talked to all the teams numerous times," said Jeff Borris, Bonds' agent. "There's not a stone that I've left unturned."

Borris is dumbfounded that Bonds isn't drawing interest in spite of the fact that Bonds' numbers were actually better in 2007, when he turned 43, than in 2006: His on-base percentage climbed, to .480; his home run rate increased; his batting average rose. Teams are starved for offense, in a year in which run-scoring and home run-hitting rates have dropped.

"We were able to get him a $19.2 million contract [with the Giants] based on those 2006 numbers," Borris said. "And the numbers went up in 2007 -- and yet we can't even get him a $390,000 deal with any team. Not a single team has any interest. It makes me suspicious."

Weeks ago, the Major League Baseball Players Association began its own inquiry into the question of whether some members of the free-agent class of 2007-08 may have fallen victim to collusion. Major League Baseball has steadfastly maintained there has been no collusion against players.