Manny in Pinstripes in 09?
4:22pm: Rob Neyer has an interesting take on this tidbit. "You think Manny’s too old for a long-term contract?" he asks rhetorically, before running through Gary Sheffield’s late-30s contracts and pointing out that he’ll earn $14 million next year at the age of 40. But wait! "That hasn’t worked out too well for anyone except Sheffield and his agent…Players like Manny Ramirez and Gary Sheffield are exactly what keep teams like the Red Sox, the Mets, the Dodgers, and (especially) the Yankees from winning 100 games every year."
1:58pm: I promised myself no Manny Ramirez posts today, but…George King is reporting that "a close friend" of the slugger’s told him that Manny "wants to play for the Yankees so he can get at the Red Sox." And of course, Ramirez went to high school in the Bronx [correction: upper Manhattan].
The Yankees well know what Ramirez can do with a bat. Only two players—Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams—have more bombs against the Yankees than Ramirez does, and the New York papers greeted news of his departure from rival Boston with unrestrained glee. In 83 at-bats in Yankee Stadium over the past three years, Ramirez has hit .325/.411/.530.
But would the Yankees actually sign him? They can certainly afford him…but my hunch is that they’d prefer to keep working on their youth movement. And if it’s true, as agent Scott Boras has been saying, that Manny wanted to get out of the media-saturated fishbowl of Boston, a move to New York would be completely illogical. On the other hand, this is Manny we’re talking about…not Spock.
Odds and Ends: Sabathia, Teixeira, Ibanez, Giles, Lee
CC Sabathia is 6-0 since getting traded to the Brewers, and naturally his teammates are thrilled to have him. Especially Prince Fielder, who said of his new ace, "I’m like his mini-me."
Angels owner Arte Moreno said it was "emotional" for him to trade home-grown first baseman Casey Kotchman, but that he won’t regret the move even if new Angel Mark Teixeira leaves as a free agent after the season. He mentioned budding AAA star Kendry Morales as a possible replacement.
The News Tribune’s Larry LaRue worries that the Mariners won’t be able to keep Raul Ibanez after the season. Ibanez has said he’d like a 4-year deal, but LaRue sees the M’s offering three at most. Plus, he notes that it’s a little late for them to start talking about a contract extension.
Brian Giles is annoyed that details of his vetoed trade to Boston became public. "I didn’t know everybody was supposed to know, especially when it wasn’t a done deal and it wouldn’t go down," Giles said. "It’s kind of between myself and my agent and Boston and the Padres." He also expressed a desire to stay with the Pads—a preference that was greeted with suspicion by the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo.
And President George W. Bush thinks Carlos Lee‘s contract is just fine.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Giles, Teixeira, Dunn, Manny
A few random notes from around the baseball Blogosphere…
- Orioles Outsider projects what Mark Teixeira should be worth on the open-market and wonders how much above that number the O’s should be willing to go.
- Baltimore Birds Nest thinks that the only way Teixeira ends up in an O’s uniform next season is if Peter Angelos opens the wallet and makes the biggest offer.
- Camden Chat would prefer to have Adam Dunn over Teixeira.
- The Shadow of Manny Ramirez compares the Manny Ramirez trade to a scene from "Sex and the City"…Don’t worry. It went over my head also.
- Not to be outdone, Soxaholix wonders why every time one of the Sox best players leaves town, it is like an episode of the new "90210".
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Brian Giles Blocks Trade To Boston
2:17pm: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says Giles would have vetoed a deal to the Rays as well. Cafardo believes the Red Sox will continue to monitor the waiver wire for a bench bat. Amalie Benjamin says the Sox weren’t broken up about Giles’ decision, and trade talks didn’t get too far.
12:55pm: It’s official – Giles has blocked the deal. The window has closed. You may recall he originally took less to sign with the Padres back in ’05.
12:35pm: ESPN’s Buster Olney says Giles plans to block a trade to Boston.
8:41am: The Brian Giles situation should be resolved today. New take on it this morning: Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald has a baseball source indicating "the Red Sox claimed Giles out of legitimate interest and not as an attempt to keep another team from claiming him."
Ken Rosenthal wrote yesterday, "the move was apparently designed as a block to prevent the Tampa Bay Rays from claiming Giles, sources say."
Odds and Ends: Manny, McDonald, Bradford, Bowden
Collection o’ links…
- Craig Monroe has cleared waivers and become a free agent.
- ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick talks to Pirates GM Neal Huntington about his deadline deals.
- Pirates players Chris Duffy and Franquelis Osoria cleared waivers and will head to Triple A.
- Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi says manager Cito Gaston will be back next year.
- Yesterday Dan Shaughnessy wrote a few sentences about the commissioner’s office investigating Manny Ramirez‘s final hours with the Red Sox. It’s become a national story. More on the situation from the L.A. Times.
- Sean McAdam wonders if the Red Sox could acquire Toronto shortstop John McDonald. He’d have to get past ten other AL teams first.
- In regards to the Chad Bradford deal, Andy MacPhail said, "I can use the dough." MacPhail said the Orioles will receive a prospect, to be determined in the offseason.
- Jack Etkin of the Rocky Mountain News believes Rockies reliever Kip Wells is expendable.
- Tracy Ringolsby heard speculation that Nationals VP of baseball operations Mike Rizzo could replace GM Jim Bowden.
Brian Giles Claimed By Red Sox
4:34pm: Tom Krasovic has further musings on the Giles situation. He wonders if the Red Sox could rent Giles for the rest of the season and then let him go back to the Padres as a free agent.
THURSDAY, 11:06am: Interestingly, the Red Sox won the claim on Giles. Their intent was to block the Rays, according to Ken Rosenthal. Giles can veto a trade to Boston, and he might simply because his playing time could be reduced. Also, I have learned that Giles would still be able to veto a straight salary dump. The Padres can’t use this situation to sneak around Giles’ no-trade clause.
Boston winning the claim means all NL teams passed on Giles, as well as most AL teams.
WEDNESDAY: According to Ken Rosenthal, Padres right fielder Brian Giles was claimed on waivers by an unknown team. Giles has about $2.7MM left on his contract this year. He also has a $9MM option for ’09 with a $3MM buyout (which logically should be exercised). Giles gets another $2MM if traded. Rosenthal adds that Giles can block deals to the Orioles, Red Sox, Tigers, Rays, Marlins, Brewers, Pirates, and Nationals.
Rosenthal says the Padres will attempt to make a deal with the claiming team, though it won’t be a salary dump. Giles, 37, is hitting .318/.405/.438 away from PETCO this year. Not too many players are capable of a .400 OBP.
Odds and Ends: McLouth, Doumit, Eyre, Bradley
Here’s today’s link roundup.
- Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus rates the best remaining fits for Barry Bonds. The Angels come out on top.
- The Mets seem pessimistic about Ryan Church returning this season.
- MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo has the latest buzz on the unsigned draft picks.
- The Astros dug up a pitcher in the independent leagues who is said to touch 100 mph. He’s a 21 year-old righty named Jack Tilghman.
- The Pirates plan to offer long-term contracts to Nate McLouth and Ryan Doumit.
- Sean McAdam says the Red Sox still have some interest in Scott Eyre.
- Dave Cameron can’t figure out what kind of contract Milton Bradley will get. Did you realize Bradley leads the American League in both OBP and SLG?
- Patrick Newman ranks Hitoki Iwase, Kenshin Kawakami, and Koji Uehara as MLB prospects.
Freddy Garcia Rumors: Thursday
Here’s a fresh thread for Freddy Garcia rumors. The 32 year-old was scouted by about half the teams in baseball this week.
- Sean McAdam characterizes Boston’s interest as minimal.
- The Phillies will pass, but might consider him for ’09.
- The Yankees have more interest than the Mets. Ken Davidoff’s sources are divided on whether Garcia can help this year.
- Danny Knobler quotes Garcia’s agent as saying that the pitcher could keep working with an eye on ’09 if interest is not sufficient now.
At Least 15 Teams Watched Freddy Garcia
9:13pm: Additional teams confirmed in attendance: the Red Sox, Brewers, Cubs, Dodgers, Marlins, and White Sox. Garcia’s agent says he’d like to sign by this weekend, and plans to sign only for ’08. Troy Renck says the Rockies are a long shot now that they’ve added Livan Hernandez.
WEDNESDAY, 9:28am: Surprisingly, the Phillies were in attendance at Garcia’s audition yesterday. David Murphy finds the idea intriguing, but says the Phils don’t have major interest. The Phillies traded Gavin Floyd to the White Sox for Garcia in December of ’06, but he only gave them 11 starts while earning $10MM.
Also confirmed at the audition: the Tigers, Yankees, Mets, Rays, Rockies, Astros, and Rangers. MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez thinks the Rangers might be the most interested party.
TUESDAY: Today’s the big day…free agent Freddy Garcia will audition for teams in Miami. He’s recovering from labrum surgery.
We’ve compiled reports over the past few months. Teams interested in Garcia at one point: the Mets, Red Sox, Braves, Yankees, White Sox, Rangers, Tigers, Rays, Astros, Cubs, Cardinals, Dodgers, Twins, Indians, Mariners, and Royals. That’s 16 of 30 teams, though the non-contenders may have dropped out.
Garcia’s friend and former manager Ozzie Guillen doubted the pitcher’s ability to contribute at the big league level this year. Garcia was upset by the comments.
Scott Eyre Designated; Red Sox Interested
WEDNESDAY: According to Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal, the Red Sox still have interest in Eyre. Scott Lauber figures the Phillies are likely to inquire as well.
TUESDAY: To make room for closer Kerry Wood, the Cubs designated lefty reliever Scott Eyre for assignment today. Eyre, 36, posted a 7.15 ERA in 11.1 innings with the Cubs this year. He spent time on the DL with elbow and groin problems. Eyre actually had a nice run in the second half last year as well as May this year.
Eyre still has about $1.15MM left on his contract. Perhaps teams like the Red Sox and Phillies will inquire and the Cubs won’t have to assume all of his salary.