Bernie Trading Pinstripes for a Tomahawk?

I caught the second half of a conversation on MLB Home Plate on XM this morning discussing Bernie Williams. He has officially declined the Yankees offer of a minor league contract and an invite to spring training. I think his feelings are a little hurt that the Yankees aren’t doing more for him, and I also think he realizes that he probably won’t see any playing time on the Major League level if he takes such a deal from the Yankees. Indeed, Brian Cashman indicated that he’d be somewhere around third in line in terms of coming up if a starting outfielder is injured.

What peaked my interest in this story though is that they were talking about the Braves inviting him to camp. I only caught the tail-end of this discussion, so I’m a little shaky on the details. Hours of time on Yahoo, Google, MLB.com, and both the Yankees and Braves sites revealed no further discussion of this possibility, so I’m not really sure what’s going on here. The discussion on XM revolved around the ability of Bernie to play all three outfield positions, first base and his success as a pinch hitter. The commentators seemed a little confused about why the Braves would need him, despite his versatility. However, they seemed sure that Schuerholz had something up his sleeve if he was looking at inviting Bernie to camp. They also seemed sure that Bernie would only get a minor league contract from the Braves as well. They thought his ego was a little hurt that the team he’s played for his entire career wasn’t offering him a Major League contract, but that he might be willing to take one from another team, like the Braves.

While I think it might be of some value for us to have someone who can pinch hit, play first or play the outfield, I’m not sure there’s room on the roster. Signing him to a minor league contract with the possibility of coming up if there are injuries seems more likely, but it’s hard for me to imagine Bernie playing down in the minors after something like 16 years in the majors. What I do know though is that a name like Bernie Williams might provoke some interest from fans. I know I’d be at The Ted to see Bernie the first time he played in a Braves uniform. While I think we have great young talent, and we certainly have some proven players like the Jones boys, Smoltz, etc., I also think a name like Bernie Williams would stir some excitement in Atlanta. I also know that the Braves are quite possibly the best team in baseball for resurrecting someone’s career when other clubs have written them off as retirement-bound.

I’m interested to see if anyone else has heard about this situation or knows more than I do at the present moment. It’ll be interesting to watch it unfold.