Aramis Ramirez informed the Cubs that he is exercising his player option instead of testing the free agent market, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com. Late in the season Ramirez declared his intention to remain in Chicago, so this announcement is just a formality.
Ramirez has a 2011 player option for $14.6MM and the Cubs will have to pay him $2MM more even if they buy him out in 2012. The 32-year-old struggled early in 2010, but hit better as the year progressed and finished with a .241/.294/.452 line and 25 home runs.
Surprise!
What’s the deal with his 2012 team option exactly?
It’s listed as becoming “guaranteed if he’s traded and he picks up his 2011 player option”….
Does that mean if he’s traded his 2012 option becomes guaranteed? Or does it mean (as it’s worded) that the option only became guaranteed if he was traded ‘then’ picked up his option…so basicially traded before the end of the 2010 season?
Cause if it’s the former…the Cubs are stuck with him for another full year+. But if it’s the latter……he could be a pretty good trade chip this coming summer for an AL club needing an offensive boost (ala the Yanks and Berkman).
He has to be traded this season for 2012 to be guaranteed.
Well…that sucks majorly for the Cubs. Makes him untradeable this year.
Why an AL club specifically? There are quite a few NL clubs with a weakness at 3B. Has his defense deteriorated that badly?
His UZR/150 was -9 this year……and it’s gone from -4 in 2008, to -5 in 2009…..
An NL may take him on if they don’t value defense as much though.
A moot point though if his 2012 option is guaranteed upon a trade…..as he’s not worth $10M let alone the $16M he’d get in 2012 (on top of the $14M in 2011). Really hope the above poster is mistaken for the Cubs sake…..again, sux for them.
hahaha yes yes it has. He was never very good there. Now he did make serious improvement over the past few years but we are talking going from very very bad to less than mediocre..one a scale of 1-10..10 being adrian beltra(gold glove type D) and 1 being adam dunn at 3rd(scariest thing for his team, funniest thing for everyone else) aramis is right around a 2.5-3….his bat tends to make up for it, but he is known for going through serious cold streaks(ie this past season)..
As expected. He’s expensive but when he’s right he’s one of the better hitting 3B in baseball. Remember when his contract was signed it seemed team friendly? I’m guessing the Cubs are happy to have him back but wish it was at a lower price.
why wouldnt he pick up his 14.6 million dollar option? he would be lucky for 5 million on the market.
He’d get a heck of a lot more than that.
Maybe $8M….but the guy was hurt, doesn’t play good defense, and is pretty overrated.
His “value” for 2010 was $3.7M…..so I don’t think saying he’d be lucky to get $5M is out of the question….especially when Adrian Beltre (a gold glover) got only $9M for 2010.
yeah, he’d easily get between $8m-$10m on the market. Beyond Beltre there are really no quality 3B.
Don’t know about “easily”…..Bill Hall honestly has more value than Ramirez and no way he gets $8M. Hall has power, versatility, and is a way better defender.
Do you really think Bill Hall who is nothing more than a utility player has more value than a man who hit for 100 RBIs four times out of five, and missed the last two due to injury filled seasons??or the fact that Aramis averages out to a 1.66 WAR guy and Hall a 0.88??????
Define quality though….because Aramis only falls under quality bat….quality glove not at all…living in the chicago land area(not being a cubs fan though) i watched a ton of cubs games this season because i love baseball and dont feed in to the stupid “rivalry” amongst fans…There were countless times this past season(and seasons past) when there would be a slow roller to him at 3rd and he would miff on it fully or totally miss read it or over throw the firstbasemen(thinkfully for them up untill recently it was D.Lee so he saved a ton of runs)…..in terms of quality bats yes aramis does fit that mold (when he wants to)…
too make times this season you could see him give up at the plate. He has the potential to be a every season all star, he has the potential to fight for the triple crown, but he never seems like he want to. He will go ice cold for long stretches of time when his team needs him and suddenly turn it on at random points through out the season. He does not seem like a good team mate. both him and derek lee said they were not going to change anything all season with the new hitting coach for the cubs(cant think of his name but he is one of the better hitting coaches in the game) And all season long while aramis was sucking it up he would not work with the coach…..I could see aramis getting 7-9 base salary with 3-5mill in incentives for 3-4 yrs……To me he just seems like a first basemen playing third and if his injuries keep up (they probably will) he will be best suited for the DH which means even less money
He sucks -Nego with him say – 2m per year for the next 10 yrs – then trade him.
What?
Wow…what a shock…
I actually laughed out loud earlier this year when Ramirez said he wasnt sure he would take the option. Did he actually think ANYONE would think its a good idea to test free agency?
Hes absolutely not worth that much money…he knows it..the Cubs know it..but then again, the Cubs have a few guys on their roster who arent worth what they are being paid.
And Hendry continues to be employed. Go figure.
well his contract is up this season i believe….the ricketts are working more on fixing the staduim(should rebuild it for Christ sake, they did it to yankee stadium and there is a ton more history there than at wrigley…or build a new stadium and make wrigley a museum and a historical land make) he is fixing things wrong with the cubs business the he is going to fix the team. Also dont be surprised to see someone else in as the GM by spring training the rickets move slowly at first and very very quietly then suddenly they move fast and clear house, look at every single business that family has ever bought out…
wow, couldn’t disagree more on the “there’s more history at Yankee stadium” comment.
You do realize they redid the Old Yankee Stadium right? So while it was on the same location as where Ruth, Gehrig, Dimaggio, and Yogi played, it was really only the same stadium in name.
Only park that may have more history than Wrigley is Fenway.
Whether they should build a new stadium…..I’m torn on that. Would help the club out IMO. New stadiums always do, plus you can get more people to the game. Will be easier to get free agents to come with much, much better state-of-the-art facilities too.
Then again….it’s freakin Wrigley Field.
no no no thats what im saying is that they redid yankee stadium, twice ha all this stuff about “oh its history you cant rebuild it it wont be the same” that those typical cubs fans(by typical i mean only cubs fans because its a freaking fad) is crap…if they can rebuild a stadium make it nicer, safer and more enjoyable for fans then do it, it will attract more attention, more fans, and thus more money…
That .294 OBP…UGH!
For real. I actually think saying he’d get $5M on the open market is generous. 25 HRs are nice….but .294 OBP at 3B with subpar defense? yikes
Look at Adrian Beltre last year. Makes only about $5M guaranteed despite terrific defense. Of course, now he’ll make much more.
I can’t wait for his errors to sky rocket to 10-15 more per season now that D Lee is gone. Oh my God this is gonna be hilarious to watch. Especially when he continues to only hit .260
Anyone who compares Ramirez to Beltre must eat Cubby Blue paint chips for lunch. Career-wise, they’ve produced similar offensive seasons when healthy. But Beltre just had a bounce-back season, and Ramirez just had another injury-plagued one. Plus Ramirez’s defense is appalling, especially when viewed next to Beltre’s wizardry.Here’s the point everyone seems to be ignoring: why on earth would you give a player option rather than a mutual option? A club option is ideal from the club’s perspective, but it’s incredibly stupid to make it so the front office has NO say in it. It’s basically saying, “Okay, you’re right. I’m sure you can decide if you deserve $14.6 million on your own. And if you win the MVP and want to jet out of here, that’s cool with us too.”
Here’s the point everyone seems to be ignoring: why on earth would you give a player option rather than a mutual option? A club option is ideal from the club’s perspective, but it’s incredibly stupid to make it so the front office has NO say in it. It’s basically saying, “Okay, you’re right. I’m sure you can decide if you deserve $14.6 million on your own. And if you win the MVP and want to jet out of here, that’s cool with us too.”
This is a good point – a point that everyone in the Cubs front office continues to ignore. Tommy Boy Hendry has never been able to have the upper hand or leverage when it comes to negotiating with his players. He is a very decent guy who is just in way over his head. It is really hard to find contracts on the team that are favorable to the team. And when you consider he has handed out more no-trade clauses than any other GM over the past 5 seasons, it makes it even more clear that Hendry is overmatched and needs to go if the Cubs are ever going to be able to be a good organization.
A good example of when a player option back fires on a team. OUCH Cubs!