Odds And Ends: Rockies, Manny
A few links for Saturday afternoon…
- Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post spoke with Rockies owner Dick Monfort and heard that the team has confidence in GM Dan O’Dowd and manager Clint Hurdle even though they haven’t received extensions.
- Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald is tiring of the negotiations between Manny Ramirez‘s camp and the Dodgers.
- Speaking of those negotiations, Barry Bloom of MLB.com says there are no new developments as of mid-day Saturday.
Royals Sign Juan Cruz
3:16pm: Buster Olney with information on each year’s value: "He receives $2.25 million for 2009, $3.25 million for 2010, and a $4 million option for 2011, with a $500,000 buyout. " Royals beat writer Dick Kaegel of MLB.com confirms it.
2:25pm: According to a press release from the team, the Kansas City Royals have signed Juan Cruz to a two-year deal, with a club option for a third year.
While it is Royals policy to keep contract terms under wraps, Ken Rosenthal has contract details. The first two years of the deal are worth $6MM, while the option year would pay Cruz $3.5MM if exercised.
Rosenthal also has details on the Royals’ ability to complete the deal without negotiating a sign-and-trade with the Diamondbacks:
In the end, no sign-and-trade solution was necessary. The Royals preferred to lose their second rounder rather than give up prospects to the Diamondbacks. The team’s first-round pick is protected because it finished with one of the 15 worst records in the majors last season.
Today’s Signings: Sanchez, Weaver, Galarraga
MLBTR has an update on major league signings for today based on e-mail communication with Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman. His article is here.
Florida Marlins – Anibal Sanchez, $400,000
L.A. Angels – Jered Weaver, $465,000
Arizona Diamondbacks – Tony Pena, $430,000
Detroit Tigers – Armando Galarraga, $430,000
San Francisco Giants – Jonathan Sanchez, $455,000
Cardinals Sign Mitch Harris
According to of Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the St. Louis Cardinals have signed pitcher Mitch Harris to a minor-league deal.
Harris was selected in the 13th round of the most recent draft. His contract will take affect after Harris serves the required five years of active duty for the Navy.
Harris averaged 11.78 strikeouts per nine innings in his four-year pitching career at Navy, while posting a 2.51 ERA.
Miles On Koskie, Schilling
After speaking with Jim Hendry, Bruce Miles has more on a couple of today’s Cubs rumors: the Cubs’ signing of Corey Koskie, and their possible connection to Curt Schilling.
According to Miles, Hendry "seems excited" about adding Koskie. The Cubs could use Koskie as a backup third baseman, Miles writes, despite Hendry’s assertion that the team is "very happy with [Mike] Fontenot and [Aaron] Miles and what they’re doing in getting looks at third base."
As for the Schilling rumor, Miles says the Cubs have not heard directly from the pitcher, but are open to the idea of potentially adding him. Says Miles’ source within the Cubs’ organization: "Why not?"
Juan Cruz To Royals?
Juan Cruz may be close to a deal with the Kansas City Royals, according to Buster Olney at ESPN.com.
The Royals’ signing Cruz may entitle the Arizona Diamondbacks to two compensatory draft picks, since Cruz was a Type A free agent offered arbitration. However, a potential sign-and-trade deal with the Diamondbacks may affect those circumstances. Writes Olney:
It was not immediately clear on Saturday afternoon whether Cruz would just sign with the Royals, or if a sign-and-trade with the Diamondbacks would be part of the process.
We’ll keep an eye on this one.
Cubs To Sign Corey Koskie
According to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times the Cubs agreed to sign Corey Koskie to a minor league deal. He’ll compete for a backup job with the Cubs this spring. Koskie, who has agreed to play for Canada in the WBC, has missed large chunks of time because of concussions.
The update comes from Wittenmyer’s Twitter account. Remember to follow MLBTR on Twitter, too.
In a press release, the Cubs say the deal is pending a physical. Koskie will report to Cubs camp after the WBC.
Cards Sign 17 Pre-Arb Players
MLB.com’s Matthew Leach reports that the Cardinals have agreed to contracts with 17 pre-arbitration players, including Skip Schumaker, Chris Perez and Brendan Ryan.
Red Sox Not Interested In Pedro
According to Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald, the Red Sox are not interested in bringing Pedro Martinez back to Boston. McAdam’s sources say Pedro’s representatives approached the Red Sox this week to determine interest and heard from the Red Sox that they don’t have room for Pedro.
Pedro, who won two Cy Youngs and a World Series in Boston, will pitch in the WBC for the Dominican Republic and hopes to attract interest with a good showing.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Friday
10:18pm: Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle comments on the "comical circus surrounding the Manny Ramirez negotiations."
Sometime soon, Jenkins writes, "Manny will stroll into the Dodgers’ clubhouse with a big smile on his face, as if nothing in the world is wrong. I wonder if his teammates will portray him as they did last year, the wacky savior who really isn’t such a bad guy. Now that he’ll be getting an opt-out for the 2010 season, he’s merely a mercenary waiting to get a real offer from a team that truly appreciates him."
5:43pm: Jackson cites a "well-placed source" who says that Boras responded to the Dodgers’ two-year, $45MM offer with a counter proposal of two years and $55MM.
Jackson also writes that "it was Boras, not the Dodgers, who requested as far back as last fall that a portion of the money be deferred so that the total value of the package could be greater."
Jackson notes that there is currently no offer on the table and that "it doesn’t look like this is headed for a quick resolution."
4:42pm: Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com got a hold of Boras shortly after the noon deadline.
"I told Ned that we stand by our proposal," Boras told Bloom. "As far as we’re concerned, there’s no deadline. We’re still talking… We’re waiting for their response."
Boras made a counter offer to the Dodgers this morning, requesting a two-year, $45MM contract without the deferred payments.
3:31pm: Jackson reports that Colletti and Boras spoke on the phone around noon, but nothing came of it. It sounds like that deadline wasn’t taken too seriously by either side.
2:47pm: The noon deadline has passed (on the West Coast) without word from Boras, Manny or the Dodgers.
2:01pm: Giants managing partner Bill Neukom spoke to reporters, including the San Jose Mercury News’ Andrew Baggarly, on Friday morning. He left open the possibility of his club making a late run at Ramirez. Neukom also believes there are teams involved other than the Dodgers and Giants:
“We’ve been in touch with Manny and his agent for months about this,” Neukom said. “We’ve explored a number of situations. I think by far the Dodgers have been more active. Then there are these other teams Boras has talked about. We’re not a phantom team. There are other teams that haven’t been named that are in this. So we’ll see.”
1:15pm: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, Manny is willing to accept the Dodgers’ most recent offer if the money is not deferred. Most of you have probably already assumed this.
12:16pm: GM Ned Colletti told Jackson that deferred compensation has been "part of the deal from the very beginning." It was even part of the Dodgers’ initial one-year, $25MM offer.
It sounds like there’s a lot of confusion on both sides. "I have asked Scott many times to tell us where we are at, what we are bidding against, to tell us what we have to meet," Colletti said Friday morning. "We have yet to be told what the parameters are.”
11:35am: Yahoo! Sports’ Steve Henson passes along an e-mail that Boras sent to multiple media outlets Thursday night:
“We are continuing to work within the scope of the parameters established during our discussion Wednesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, which included a two-year term and ability for the player to void the contract after the first year.
“Per that face-to-face meeting, we agreed to continue to have discussions until Friday at noon, which included our two proposals today, our most recent at two years, $45 million. We are waiting to hear their response.”
11:19am: Tony Jackson of the Los Angeles Daily News is venting:
The wonder is that the Dodgers wasted their time making an offer that they HAD TO KNOW wouldn’t be accepted. Why would they do that, you ask? Well, now Frank McCourt gets to say to his fan base, "Hey, I tried.” Well, no, Frank, you really didn’t.
9:21am: According to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, deferred payments were the key issue in Manny Ramirez‘s rejection of the Dodgers’ most recent offer. As Hernandez explains,
Under the terms of the contract that Ramirez was offered by the Dodgers on Wednesday, he would’ve received $10 million this year. And by exercising the option for the second year, he would’ve received $10 million in 2010.
Ramirez, who turns 37 in May, would’ve been paid the remaining $25 million over the next three years without any added interest. He would’ve received $10 million in 2011, $10 million in 2012 and $5 million in 2013 .
Scott Boras made a counter offer using the same basic language and numbers of the club’s two-year, $45MM offer, but without the deferred payments. Boras told the Dodgers that they have until noon to strike a deal.