Manny Ramirez Reactions
Manny Ramirez agreed to a deal with the Dodgers today after extensive negotiations. What’s everyone saying about it? Here’s a look at some reactions from around the game:
- ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark passes along five words that were vital in the negotiations: "We want to say yes." Stark’s explanation of how the deal came together is a great read.
- Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports writes that no one looks good in the aftermath of this deal.
- Both sides made silly mistakes, but "everyone moved on," according to ESPN.com’s Peter Gammons, who likes this deal for all involved. Here’s a clip of Gammons discussing the deal on ESPN.com.
- Ned Colletti’s the winner if you ask Bill Plaschke of the LA Times.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com writes that Manny’s excited to be back, even without a $100MM contract in hand. The mood brightened at Dodgers’ camp today, even though Manny wasn’t there yet.
- Yahoo’s Jeff Passan bluntly states: "Ramirez could care less about the team for which he plays so long as it dumps the most money into his bank account."
- Rob Neyer of ESPN.com likes the Dodgers’ lineup. The gap between Manny’s production and Juan Pierre‘s should be massive, yet the Dodgers only guaranteed Manny $1MM more than Pierre.
- Alan Embree told MLB.com’s Thomas Harding that Manny will make a huge difference. At least one of Embree’s teammates, Brad Hawpe, doesn’t believe one player can change that much.
- Yahoo’s Tim Brown suggests the saga was always going to end this way.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News writes that the Giants would only have signed Manny if there was value to be had. The Giants’ players don’t sound disappointed to have missed out.
Mariners Agree To Terms With Four
According to a report by The Sports Network on the Miami Herald’s website the Mariners have agreed to terms with four pre-arbitration players, including Brandon Morrow. David Aardsma, Franklin Gutierrez and Cesar Jimenez are the three other players to agree to terms with the M’s.
Orioles Sign Adam Eaton
According to Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports the Orioles signed Adam Eaton to a minor league contract and invited him to Spring Training. Eaton, 31, was released by the Phillies Friday.
Scott Lauber of the Wilmington News Journal adds that Eaton, who cleared waivers, will only cost the O’s $400K if he makes the club. The Phillies are responsible for the rest of the $8.65MM owed to Eaton.
Odds And Ends: Orioles, Bowden, Nathan
A few links for Sunday afternoon…
- According to MLB.com’s Spencer Fordin the Orioles used "number crunching and statistical analysis" to compare Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis to similar past and present players before locking them up to deals worth $40MM and $66MM, respectively.
- Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports that Joe Nathan‘s happy to see Jonathan Papelbon making lots of money this year ($6.25MM) because it’s good for closers in general.
- Jayson Stark of ESPN.com points out the absurdity of the Manny Ramirez negotiations and suggests the structure of a deal that could work for both sides. It’s been nearly four months since the Dodgers made their initial offer of two years and $45MM.
- Pete McElroy of MASN Sports reports that Dmitri Young‘s "shocked" to see Jim Bowden resign. Young, who first dealt with Bowden on the Reds, spoke glowingly of his former GM.
- According to MLB.com’s Jason Beck Jim Leyland confirmed that the Tigers had some offseason discussions about Juan Cruz.
- The draft’s still three months away, but Keith Law of ESPN.com is already putting together scouting reports about some top amateur players.
- MLB.com’s Lyle Spencer dreams up a deal that sends Adrian Gonzalez and Jake Peavy to the Angels for 10 players.
Royals Sign Bruce Chen
According to Dick Kaegel of MLB.com the Royals have signed Bruce Chen to a minor league contract. Chen, 31, will report to the Royals’ minor league camp after he pitches for Panama in the WBC. He last pitched in the majors in April of 2007.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Saturday
7:01pm: According to Tony Jackson of the Los Angeles Daily News, Boras and Dodgers GM Ned Colletti had a conversation earlier today. Colletti called it a "cordial and informative" chat, but contract talks apparently haven’t progressed.
6:49pm: Daniel Barbarisi of the Providence Journal weighs in:
Deferred money or not, Boras and Ramirez seem out of touch to be holding out in a market with no other real bidders. If they don’t take this deal now, a better one probably isn’t coming along.
5:32pm: Twins manager Ron Gardenhire revealed a hunch to Phil Miller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press on Saturday. He thinks the Yankees could make another splash:
"I still don’t think they’re done, I really don’t. I think there’s one more guy out there that eventually, someone’s going to say (sign him)," Gardenhire said. Miller suggests that he could be referring to Manny.
9:52am: According to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney some baseball executives estimate that the deferred money offered by the Dodgers would be worth roughly $41MM in present value, including $22.5MM this year. As Olney says, that’s still more than the combined base salaries of Bobby Abreu, Orlando Hudson, Pat Burrell, Joe Crede, Cliff Floyd, Mark Loretta and Takashi Saito.
9:19am: Yesterday, we heard that the Dodgers’ most recent offer to Manny Ramirez included deferred money, but Manny and Scott Boras want a deal without deferred payments. Today, a trio of LA Times writers kick off the Manny rumors.
Dylan Hernandez reports that Manny and Scott Boras are waiting to hear whether the Dodgers will accept their counter-offer of two years and $45MM, without any deferred money and with an opt-out clause for Manny at the end of this year.
Bill Shaikin points out just how much the economy has changed since the Dodgers first offered Manny a deal and Brian Kamenetzky writes that Manny shouldn’t expect to make as much as A-Rod.
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.
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.