The Manny Ramirez Saga
The Dodgers have extended a third offer to Manny Ramirez and they expect to hear back from Scott Boras soon, but it’s never safe to assume anything with Manny. A winter’s worth of rumors later- MLBTR has had over 200 posts about Manny- the wait could be over any day. Here’s a look back at 10 key developments in the Manny Ramirez saga so far:
- October 16th: Manny begins the offseason with a memorable quote: "Gas is up and so am I."
- November 5th: Dodgers GM Ned Colletti offers Manny a two-year deal worth $45MM.
- November 12th: Scott Boras says he’s ready for "serious" offers. Soon after, the Dodgers withdraw their initial bid.
- December 7th: Manny declines the Dodgers’ offer of arbitration.
- December 11th: Feeling ignored, Manny suggests he could retire.
- January: At some point in early January, the Giants become more serious about pursuing Manny (It’s hard to pinpoint an exact date for this one).
- February 3rd: Manny turns down the Dodgers’ offer of one year and $25MM.
- February 7th: Manny: "we’re in the seventh inning and I’m waiting for my pitch."
- February 11th: The Angels sign Bobby Abreu and the Nats sign Adam Dunn, leaving Manny and the Dodgers with few alternatives to each other.
- February 25th: The Dodgers offer Manny another deal. This one’s essentially for one year at $25MM with a player option for a second year at $20MM.
Odds And Ends: Alvarez, Cameron, Nats
A few links for Thusrday night…
- Pedro Alvarez, who was drafted by the Red Sox in 2005, remembers thinking about signing with Boston in an article by Alex Speier on WEEI.com.
- Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal heard from Theo Epstein and Terry Francona about building a winning team. Epstein said the Sox have a history of making room for young talent, but Francona added that there’s never room for all the youngsters.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Mike Cameron was preparing himself to be traded this offseason and considers it "a blessing" to be in Milwaukee.
- Ironically, Mark DeRosa, who was actually traded, didn’t see it coming at all according to this article by Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- ESPN.com’s Buster Olney spoke with a number of baseball people who say "baseball’s internal code of conduct is strengthening." Players who act out aren’t getting away with it as often.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post reports that Nationals president Stan Kasten didn’t comment directly on whether we should expect any more dismissals within the organization soon.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News heard from Giants president Larry Baer that the team doesn’t consider the Edgar Renteria and Jeremy Affeldt signings mistakes.
- And bad news out of Colorado: The Rocky Mountain News will publish its final edition Friday.
Orioles Rumors: Roberts Deal, McCrory
Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun has the latest on Brian Roberts‘ no-trade clause and an Orioles signing:
- Roberts isn’t likely to be dealt anytime soon, but there are four teams he can’t be traded to this year. Schmuck is "pretty confident" that the Royals and Blue Jays are two of the four.
- Roberts can block trades to eight teams next year and to 12 the year after that.
- Roberts has a complete no trade clause the following year, just before his 10-5 rights kick in for spending 10 years in the majors and the last five with the same team.
- The Orioles have agreed to terms with reliever Bob McCrory.
The Pudge Rodriguez Market
Ivan Rodriguez is past his prime by about a decade, but still he caught over 100 games last year and put up an OPS of .713. Let’s take a look at the possible suitors for Pudge and the teams that have said they won’t pursue him:
- Astros GM Ed Wade said earlier in the week that he doesn’t intend to sign Pudge, regardless of Toby Hall‘s shoulder.
- The Mets don’t appear to be interested either.
- On Sunday, Pudge said he wants to sign with the Astros, Mets or Marlins. The first two teams don’t seem interested, so could the Marlins offer him a minor league deal? Currently their catchers are John Baker and Mike Rabelo.
- DRaysBay suggests the Rays could use Rodriguez to back up Dioner Navarro.
- This is pure speculation on my part, but the A’s, whose current backup is Rob Bowen, have been willing to give veterans second chances before. Mike Piazza, Frank Thomas (twice) and now Nomar Garciaparra have all attracted Billy Beane’s attention, so why not Rodriguez?
Lots of teams could use catching depth; which one’s the best fit for Pudge?
A’s Interested In Garciaparra
According to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney the A’s are interested in Nomar Garciaparra. Olney suggests the A’s would like Nomar’s righthanded bat to provide balance in a lineup well-stocked with lefthanded hitters like Jason Giambi and Jack Cust.
Olney adds that the A’s have maintained interest in Orlando Cabrera, who will likely have to sign for Orlando Hudson money (up to $8MM) instead of Edgar Renteria money ($18MM).
Pirates Exercise Russell’s 2010 Option
According to MLB.com’s Jennifer Langosch the Pirates have picked up manager John Russell’s option for 2010. Last year, his first as a major league manager, Russell led the Pirates to a 67-95 record.
Odds And Ends: Royals, Zimmerman, A-Rod
Links for Saturday…
- ESPN.com’s Buster Olney breaks down the 2009 Royals and considers them an improvement over last year’s team.
- According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Brendan Ryan is not yet out of options because of the time he spent on the DL back in 2006.
- Yahoo’s Tim Brown writes that the Nationals lack stability. He wonders "if the organization really is getting anywhere."
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post heard that Ryan Zimmerman thinks the time is right for a long-term deal with the Nats, despite the weakened market and his 2008 injuries.
- Wallace Matthews of Newsday thinks Hank Steinbrenner should have let Alex Rodriguez sign elsewhere after 2007 because the slugger’s become a "toxic mortgage" to the team. Say what you will about A-Rod, it’s hard to match his production.
- The Tigers don’t have the organizational depth they did when they dealt for Miguel Cabrera, but FanGraphs examines what’s left in the minors.
Lester Wants To Stay In Boston
Joe Haggerty of the Boston Metro has a Jon Lester update on his blog, Hacks with Haggs. Lester says he wants to play for the Red Sox for his entire career.
"If they approach me we can work something out to not only be a Red Sox for the next four or five years, but for my whole career."
Lester’s entering his last pre-arbitration season and isn’t scheduled to become a free agent until after 2012. Two of his teammates, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia, signed long-term deals with the Sox this offseason. Yesterday, Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal suggested Lester could be the next to receive a multi-year deal.
Isringhausen Could Return To Cards?
MONDAY, 5:12pm: MLB.com’s Matthew Leach spoke to Cardinals officials Monday, and it doesn’t sound like the club wants Izzy back for another season.
"I think the attitude for most of the winter has been for him to find a situation someplace that wasn’t us," manager Tony La Russa said. "And if that doesn’t work, it’s [already] the third day here. Not that it doesn’t ever happen — it does happen sometimes — but you don’t like guys missing the first three days. I don’t know. We talk about him, and it’s a complicated situation."
3:18pm: Strauss spoke to Isringhausen, who is still interested in signing a minor league deal with the Cards if they’ll have him. The Dodgers and Brewers are known to have interest, if that doesn’t work out.
SATURDAY: Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said in a radio interview on the Team 1380 that the Cardinals have spoken with Jason Isringhausen‘s representatives and could still sign him. The Cardinals are keeping their options open and they could strike a deal if Izzy doesn’t yet have a job in a few weeks.
The Isringhausen discussion comes up near the end of the chat.
Angels, Ervin Santana Agree To Extension
SUNDAY: Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times has details on Santana’s new deal: $3.8MM in ’09, $6MM in ’10, $8MM in ’11, and $11.2MM in ’12. The 2013 option for $13MM carries a $1MM buyout.
The Angels will pay Santana $17.8MM for his three arb years, up from the typical $14MM paid for that period in these types of deals. The Angels and Santana’s agent may have been looking at Scott Kazmir‘s deal as the model, the main difference being that Kazmir’s first arb year salary had already been determined before he signed long-term in May of ’08.
SATURDAY: According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, the Angels have agreed to a $30MM, four-year extension with Ervin Santana. There is a club option for a fifth year. The contract will prevent the two sides from going to arbitration. Heyman heard from WFAN’s Sweeny Murti that the option year is worth $12MM, if exercised. In that case, the deal would cover two of Santana’s free agent years.