Rays Lack Payroll Flexibility
Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times talked to Rays owner Stu Sternberg, who said the Rays lack payroll flexibility to make an in-season acquisition. Still, Sternberg left the door open to change his mind midsummer. I wonder if the Rays could move a reliever and trim $3MM or so.
Braves Sign Garret Anderson
Garret Anderson passed his physical; he’s a Brave on a $2.5MM deal. Do you like the move? Will he be better than Ken Griffey Jr. this year?
Ricciardi Discusses Halladay
Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi is tired of the Roy Halladay rumors, even though they are entirely his fault. He told ESPN’s Jayson Stark:
"Roy Halladay is not going anywhere," Ricciardi says, as emphatically as he can possibly say it without grabbing a bullhorn or splashing it on a billboard. "This has become kind of a hot topic in baseball, but we’re not trading him. We have no intention of trading him. He allows us to be good. And we feel we are going to be good. And he’s going to be The Guy." So there. It’s settled, right? Trading his ace has never entered the GM’s mind? "Nope," the GM says succinctly.
But here’s Ricciardi about a week ago, to Joel Sherman of the New York Post:
"Ownership wants no part of trading Roy at this time. He’s the face of the organization. Right now we are not thinking about going down that road. But that is what we feel in February. Who knows how you feel in June? We have thought about it, this has not escaped us [that Halladay could leave as a free agent, and trading him might be best for the long-term health of the organization]. In June, we may have to say. ‘Is this the way we want to go?’ It will be up to ownership, and ownership has a strong attachment to Doc."
Ricciardi left the door wide open in his quotes to Sherman, and that was his choice. Ricciardi also had this to say to CBSSports.com’s Scott Miller:
"The only way we’d trade him, I’d say, is if all hell broke loose and the stock market went nuts and (ownership) said we’ve got to take the payroll down to bare bones. And if that was the case, then we’d be trading a lot of people."
If Ricciardi had made his emphatic statements to Sherman or Miller, we wouldn’t be talking about Halladay.
Baseball America Top 100 Prospects
Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects list is up. Voters were tabulated from six BA regulars to form the results. Matt Wieters, David Price, and Colby Rasmus snag the top three spots.
Nomar Garciaparra To Decide Soon
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney:
It’s expected that Nomar Garciaparra will make his decision by mid-week on whether he wants to play in Oakland, or in Philadelphia, or if he’d prefer to walk away from the game.
Garciaparra, 35, hit .264/.326/.466 in 181 plate appearances for the Dodgers last year while playing first base, shortstop, and third base and earning $8.5MM. Ken Rosenthal wrote about Nomar yesterday, saying the Phillies are pessimistic about signing him because the A’s are offering an opportunity for more at-bats.
Konerko Discusses Trade Possibility
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times asked White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko about the possibility of being traded. As a 10-and-5 player, Konerko has the ability to veto any deal. Here’s what Konerko had to say:
"You never know because the answer could be you help them by leaving. I would never be opposed to that. It doesn’t have to be a breakup that’s antagonistic. It doesn’t have to be a thing where heads are butted."
Konerko also spoke about "going through hell" to earn the 10-and-5 rights.
Sox manager Ozzie Guillen indicated Konerko would only be a trade candidate if the team disappoints this year. At $12MM in each of the ’09 and ’10 seasons, he’d need a big first half to become marketable. Konerko will be 33 in March.
Pirates Still Talking To Ohman
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates are still talking to Will Ohman‘s agent. Kovacevic suggests a trade involving the Pirates’ current top lefty, John Grabow, may be more likely. Grabow will be eligible for free agency after the season and has not been approached about an extension. My opinion: there might not be much of a market for Grabow until midseason.
About a week ago, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick learned that Ohman has offers in hand from the Pirates, Marlins, and Padres. MLB.com’s Corey Brock followed up with the belief that San Diego is a long shot.
Heyman’s Latest: Cabrera, Pudge, Pedro, Halladay
Already linked to this article from Jon Heyman in the Manny piece, but it should have its own post as well, as the second half of it covers completely different material. Let’s take a look…
- Orlando Cabrera and the A’s still face a gap in the numbers. The A’s would like to sign him for $2MM-$3MM, but Cabrera is holding out for more. The hit his reputation took based on problems with his former White Sox teammates is unlikely to be helping matters.
- Heyman points out that the Dodgers did an excellent job of using Cabrera’s availability to drive down Orlando Hudson’s price tag.
- Heyman says Pudge Rodriguez’s reputation also took a hit toward the end of his tenure in Detroit. Could that be playing a factor in the lack of interest toward Pudge? Heyman names the Marlins and Astros as good fits. Pudge will use the WBC as an audition to try to prove he’s better than he was with the Yankees (.580 OPS through 33 games).
- Pedro Martinez will also use the WBC as an audition, but other than the Pirates, there’s not much of a market for him. That could change with a solid showing in March, however. The Indians made a run at Pedro early on, and the Dodgers could become a possibility.
- Heyman speculates that with Vernon Wells’ health issues and declining production, the stars may aligning for a Roy Halladay trade mid-season. Wells will miss the next month with a hamstring injury.
What’s everyone else think? Is Cabrera being stubborn or are the A’s? Where will Pudge and Pedro end up? Are Halladay’s Toronto days numbered?
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Monday
9:11pm: Jon Heyman sounds in, noting that both sides are being a bit stubborn. Ramirez isn’t going to get the four years or $100MM he initially wanted, and the Dodgers are probably going to have to up their offerings of 1/$25MM and 2/$45MM.
Heyman says the two sides might be closer to getting a deal done, but that doesn’t make them close.
7:36pm: Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times heard something yesterday about a deal being close (two years plus a third-year vesting option), but he wasn’t able to confirm the information.
7:33pm: MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick says that Ned Colletti has refuted today’s rumors:
"’Nothing’s changed in 48 hours,’ said Colletti, who on Saturday said negotiations between him and agent Scott Boras had increased in frequency and duration during the previous week, but would not characterize the progress made."
Colletti does say, however, that negotiations have not taken a step backwards.
5:26pm: Danny Knobler at CBS Sports adds in that there’s no real competition for the Dodgers.
The Giants, thought to be the only other serious bidders for Manny’s services, currently have Manny on the "back burner," according to General Manager Brian Sabean.
Knobler also points out other signs that the Giants aren’t seriously in it:
"Could the Giants be bluffing? Sure, although as their other winter moves suggest, they’re more a strike-fast team when they really want a player.
Why wouldn’t the Giants, 29th in baseball in runs scored in 2008 and dead-last in home runs, jump at adding Ramirez?"
Knobler suggests that unless things fizzle with the Dodgers, and Manny accepts a one-year, $20MM-ish deal from San Francisco, Manny won’t be a Giant in 2009.
4:38pm: Vic "The Brick" Jacobs of KLAC 570 says Manny Ramirez "should be a Dodger later this week." Jacobs says it will be "two-year fixed, third-year incentive-laced." Click here to visit KLAC 570’s website.
Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News, however, does not believe there is any breaking Manny Ramirez news at this time.
Jim Bowden Under Investigation
9:02pm: Chico Harlan of the Washington Post report that some officials within the Nationals’ ownership, including Managing Principal Owner Ted Lerner, are "eager to cut ties with the general manager." They write:
"The Nationals, one source said, are encouraging the investigation to return an answer on Bowden so the parties can ‘go on their merry way.’"
Team President Stan Kasten has stated that he supports every member of the Washington Nationals, regardless of circumstance.
Lerner and his son, Mark, both declined comment, stating that Kasten’s response will stand as the Nationals’ statement on the issue.
The article also mentions José Rijo, who worked with Bowden in both Cincinnati and Washington. Rijo runs a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic and was responsible for brokering the deal for Carlos Daniel Alvarez Lugo, then thought to be a 16-year-old by the name of Esmailyn Gonzalez. Lugo was also four years older than he was believed to be when the contract was signed.
Rijo, a special assistant to Bowden, took a leave of absence and returned to the Dominican Republic this Saturday, but has not been fired. According to Kasten, no team officials have been punished.
MONDAY, 3:21pm: Bowden’s comment: "I’m innocent of any wrongdoing."
SUNDAY, 9:52am: According to SI.com’s Melissa Segura:
A federal investigation into the skimming of signing bonuses given to baseball prospects from Latin America is looking at Washington Nationals general manager Jim Bowden as far back as 1994, when he was GM of the Cincinnati Reds, according to a baseball executive familiar with the investigation.
The Bowden investigation is linked to the David Wilder scandal by way of a scout named Jorge Oquendo. The Chicago Tribune just posted new details on Wilder this evening. Segura doesn’t suggest it, but you have to think Bowden’s job is in jeopardy.