Jason Giambi has a contract offer from Indians, but not to play

The Indians have a standing job offer out to Jason Giambi, but in some sort of non-playing capacity, so tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The specifics of the position are not mentioned, so I'm not sure if it would be with the Major League team or as some sort of instructor for prospects at one or more levels. It seems as though one of the main reasons he was still able to find work as a player the last two or three years has been the near-universal praise for his "clubhouse presence," and while I didn't want him holding down a roster spot in 2014, I'd be glad to have him onboard as a coach/advisor, so this is good news to me.

To this point, Giambi (44 years old) has not yet announced his retirement, and is presumably still hoping someone will offer him at least a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. I'm hard pressed to think such an offer is coming though.

Over the last three seasons Giambi has appeared in just 157 games, with a batting line of .185/.303/.334, good for an OPS+ of just 76. In 2014 he appeared in 26 games, with a line of .133/.257/.267 and an OPS+ of 51. He can't play the field any more, he can't really run the bases, and he's no longer a capable hitter. There's no shame in that, as Julio Franco is the only player in the last 30 years who was able to hit well at such an advanced age, and we can't all be Julio Franco.

I hope Giambi is able to see the benefits in beginning the next phase of his life. If he decides he wants to remain in baseball, without taking a couple years away, it seems likely he'd view the Indians as the ideal team to do that with. It'd be nice to keep that clubhouse presence, but without having to tie up a roster spot.