his inability to hit the ball very far is clearly a concern, and the major reason i would never have resigned him long-term (because he looks like exactly the kind of guy who will turn useless when his ability to frequently get infield hits diminishes.) But in the here an now, with him already on the team, it makes no difference to me how far his hits go as long as he gets them (or just sees plenty of ball fours.) The observations on his hitting ability (or weight gain, or losing his speed, etc) are all very relevant when deciding whether or not to sign him, but it shouldn't be the measure of his performance, if his obp/slg are where they have historically been i'm happy.