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Odds & Ends: Ramirez, Twins, Inge, Pirates, Dodgers

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Saturday afternoon linkage..

  • Ken Gurnick of MLB.com tweets that the Dodgers have left Manny Ramirez out of the lineup for a third consecutive game.  One has to wonder if this means that the Dodgers are ready to send Ramirez to the White Sox.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) asked Twins GM Bill Smith if the club's payroll has reached $100MM.  He responded, "I've quit checking."
  • There's no evidence yet of serious trade talks between the Dodgers and the White Sox regarding Manny Ramirez, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.
  • A source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) that he would be very surprised to see the Tigers trade Brandon Inge before Tuesday's deadline.
  • Commissioner Bud Selig has no issue with the Pirates' financial statements which were made public earlier this week, writes Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.
  • Dodgers players don't seem to be too concerned about the divorce of the McCourts in this article by Beth Harris of the Associated Press.

Dodgers Consider Options

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FRIDAY, 10:24am: Manny is not asking for an extension, according to Rosenthal on Twitter.

THURSDAY, 9:17pm: The White Sox will know by Friday afternoon if they can or will get Ramirez, reports Mark Gonzalez of the Chicago Tribune.

7:55am: The Dodgers and White Sox have have discussed a potential Manny Ramirez trade, but according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, Los Angeles has spoken to at least one other team about the 38-year-old. The Rays and Rangers are interested in Ramirez, though the Dodgers are not fully committed to making a trade.

Ramirez wants a one-year extension to waive his no-trade clause, a source tells Rosenthal and Morosi. If he clears waivers, Ramirez could have the leverage to make such demands, but if a team claims him, the Dodgers would only be able to negotiate with that club. The White Sox intend to claim Ramirez, according to FOX, though that won’t necessarily happen.

Teams have until the end of the week to claim Ramirez, who hit waivers yesterday. If he’s claimed, the Dodgers will have until Tuesday afternoon to work out a deal. Click here to vote on whether a National League team wil claim Ramirez and here for more detail on trading in August.

 

Odds & Ends: White Sox, Hoffman, Britton, Cubs

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As Albert Pujols joins the 400-homer club, here are some items of note…

  • White Sox GM Kenny Williams hinted that his club may be pursuing a lower-profile waiver wire target than Manny Ramirez, reports MLB.com's Scott Merkin.  This target, however, is apparently not Trevor Hoffman. Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com writes that Williams denied a report saying that the Sox put in a claim on Hoffman, but were unable to work out a trade with the Brewers.
  • The Orioles are "increasingly less likely" to call up left-hander Zach Britton in September, reports MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli.  Britton, ranked as the 63rd-best prospect in the game by Baseball America's preseason rankings, would only be in line to start every six or seven days given Baltimore's full staff and a number of September off-days.  Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun adds that Britton is already nearing his 2010 innings limit.
  • The Cubs interviewed Eric Wedge today for their open manager's job, reports Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com.  Levine mentions that Fredi Gonzalez, Pat Listach and Ryne Sandberg are all slated for interviews, and Chicago GM Jim Hendry wants a new manager hired before the team's November organizational meetings.
  • It's "unlikely at this point" that the Diamondbacks will be making any more trades, a team executive tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com.
  • The Pirates were wise to get Jameson Taillon signed at an over-slot price rather than take their chances with two top-3 picks in the 2011 amateur draft, writes Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  • Jeff Bagwell isn't sure if he wants to return as Houston's hitting coach next season, says MLB.com's Alyson Footer.

Dodgers Talking Trade With White Sox

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7:39pm: Ramirez has told friends that he would waive his no-trade clause to approve a deal to the White Sox, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter).

6:50pm: Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times hears that the Dodgers and White Sox are discussing a potential Ramirez trade (Twitter link).

5:43pm: The Dodgers are preparing for trade talks with the White Sox, according to Toni Ginnetti of the Chicago Sun-Times. The Dodgers are reviewing scouting reports on some of Chicago’s minor leaguers, since the White Sox have previously shown interest in Manny Ramirez, who hit the waiver wire today. Ginnetti reports that the Dodgers “appeared to be trying to negotiate a trade” instead of handing Ramirez and his salary over.

All National League teams have to pass on Ramirez for the White Sox to trade for him, but the Dodgers seem to be anticipating a claim by Chicago. As ESPN.com's Buster Olney pointed out on Twitter today, any team that takes on Ramirez's salary would be "committing $4MM for a player whose last hit came 57 days ago." The slugging left fielder has struggled to hit in the majors since returning from the disabled list, but the White Sox could use an upgrade at DH.

Heyman On Minaya, White Sox, D’Backs

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The 63-62 Mets likely need a “big finish” for GM Omar Minaya to return in the same role next year, people familiar with the team tell Jon Heyman of SI.com. Minaya’s contract guarantees him about $1MM in 2011 and the same amount in 2012, but the Mets would still consider firing or reassigning Minaya. Here are the details on the Mets, plus the rest of Heyman’s rumors:

  • Disappointing and expensive Minaya additions like Jason Bay and Francisco Rodriguez aren’t doing their GM any favors. Mets execs haven’t been impressed with all of Minaya’s major signings.
  • Heyman lists Kevin Towers, Pat Gillick and in-house candidates John Ricco and Wayne Krivsky as potential replacements for Minaya.
  • A person connected to the White Sox says the team offered the Dodgers two proposals for Manny Ramirez at the end of July, but received no counter-offers. Ken Rosenthal reported today that the White Sox will claim Manny if he reaches them on waivers.
  • Heyman says it would be “a surprise if Kirk Gibson isn't retained” as D’Backs manager next year. Interim GM Jerry Dipoto also has a “decent chance” of keeping his job.

White Sox Will Claim Manny Ramirez

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The White Sox will claim Manny Ramirez with the intention of acquiring him once he's placed on waivers by the Dodgers, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets that GM Kenny Williams is pushing all his chips on getting Ramirez, according to an MLB source.  Manny has not yet been placed on waivers, based on reports, even though the Dodgers gained the ability to do so yesterday. 

With a .540 winning percentage, the White Sox are the first AL contending team in the waiver order if Ramirez makes it past the NL unclaimed.  Rosenthal says the Rays and Rangers are also interested in Manny.

Ramirez has $4.46MM left on his contract at the moment, though about $3.34MM of that is deferred without interest.  Assuming Manny approves the assignment, the Dodgers might be willing to dump his contract just for salary relief.

Ramirez would certainly provide a boost to the White Sox as their designated hitter, if he can stay healthy.  He's hitting .312/.404/.508 in 223 plate appearances this year, a down year in rate stats only by his lofty standard.

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Ross, Lee, White Sox, Dodgers

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Sunday night linkage..

  • The Nats still expect to see Yunesky Maya pitch for them before the end of the year, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
  • The Pirates opened up their books to the media and Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the goods.
  • Florida held on to Cody Ross until August because they had hoped to reassert themselves in the playoff chase, writes MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
  • It doesn't sound as though Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger (via Twitter) likes the Mets chances of landing Cliff Lee this offseason.
  • Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets that Ken Williams isn't on the road with the White Sox but he doesn't know if the GM is going after someone on the waiver wire.
  • Dodgers skipper Joe Torre thinks that late season callups can create an unfair advantage, writes MLB.com's Evan Drellich.

Rosenthal On Uggla, Cubs, D’Backs, Ramirez

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Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com has some hot stove items to share in his latest Full Count video…

  • Contract negotiations between Dan Uggla and the Marlins are "not off to a great start."  Rosenthal reports that the Marlins are offering a three-year contract but Uggla wants a five-year pact.  We heard last week that the Marlins were offering a three-year, $30MM deal, but Rosenthal guesses that Uggla is looking for something in the range of $55-60MM over the desired five years.
  • The Cubs' "number-one need" in the offseason is a left-handed power bat at either first base or right field, with Tyler Colvin available to play the other position. 
  • Starting pitching is also a need for the Cubs, as Rosenthal says the team wants to bring in at least one new starter "regardless of what they do with Carlos Zambrano."  One option could be to bring back a recently-traded ace — Rosenthal says Chicago "still has a lot of interest in Ted Lilly." 
  • Arizona president and CEO Derrick Hall says "it would be crazy" to not interview other manager and general manager candidates despite the fact that he's happy with the work done by interim manager Kirk Gibson and interim GM Jerry Dipoto.  Hall says he will start a GM search at the beginning of September, with Dipoto "at the top of [the] list."  Rosenthal expects Kevin Towers, Dodgers assistant GM Logan White and Yankees vice-president Damon Oppenheimer to all draw interest from the Diamondbacks, though New York would have to grant Arizona permission to talk to Oppenheimer.
  • Now that Manny Ramirez is off the disabled list, Rosenthal provided an update to his news from last week about the possibility of Ramirez on the waiver wire.  The Dodgers will wait to put Ramirez on waivers since teams will want to make sure that he is both healthy and hitting well.  Rosenthal repeats that the White Sox are the club "most likely" to put in a claim for Ramirez, since the Sox "don't like Brad Hawpe all that much" and they doubt that Detroit would trade them Johnny Damon.

Omar Vizquel Wants To Play In 2011

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Back in May, Omar Vizquel told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that he'd probably retire unless he finished the season well.  Three months later, with the White Sox in a pennant race and Vizquel getting regular playing time, the veteran shortstop sounded as if he's ready to stick around in another chat with Cowley.

"I think it would be sad that if at the end of the season I look back, look at my year, and say, 'Man, I don't think I can do this anymore,' " Vizquel said.  "Taking a look at the numbers and the things that I have done this year, it will give me a good possibility to come back next year and try and see if a team is interested in wanting me again.''

Entering tonight's action, Vizquel has a .283/.349/.341 slash line in 259 plate appearances for Chicago.  While the .690 OPS is modest, it would represent Vizquel's best season since the .749 OPS he posted in 2006 as San Francisco's everyday shortstop.  Vizquel has played mostly third base for the Sox this season filling in for the injured Mark Teahen, and has made five of six starts at third since Teahen returned from the DL last week. 

Vizquel signed a one-year, $1.375MM contract with Chicago last winter and would certainly sign a similar pact with the White Sox or another club if he chooses to return for his 23rd major league campaign.  If he does come back, Vizquel will continue his surprising ascent up baseball's all-time hits leaderboard.  Though Vizquel is known for his defense (he's an 11-time Gold Glover), he is also 49th all-time with 2768 hits heading into Thursday.  He'll already pass Hall-of-Famer Andre Dawson (2774 hits) and future HOF-er Ken Griffey Jr. (2781) before this season is out. 

Odds & Ends: Chapman, Lee, Inge, Thome

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Links for Wednesday night….

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