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Dodgers Rumors: Manny, Nomar, Lowe, Penny, Kent

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Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times discusses the Dodgers’ upcoming busy offseason, while Bill Shaikin focuses on Manny Ramirez.

  • Nomar Garciaparra is undecided about playing next year.  He hit .264/.326/.466 in 181 plate appearances in 2008 while earning $8.5MM.
  • Manager Joe Torre seems to consider pitching the top offseason priority.  Makes sense, with the statuses of Derek Lowe and Brad Penny in question.  Hernandez’s sources say Lowe felt underappreciated during his time in L.A., and he is expected to leave.  It’s unknown whether the Dodgers will choose Penny’s $9.25MM option or the $2MM buyout.
  • Hernandez doesn’t see GM Ned Colletti breaking up his core group of young players to acquire Jake Peavy.
  • The departure of Jeff Kent is near-certain  Blake DeWitt can step in at second or third base.
  • The Manny situation is difficult, because the Dodgers will take a lot of heat if they won’t meet his asking price (perhaps $100MM+).  Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire suggests a more reasonable offer of three years, $60MM.

Latest On Peavy

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9:53pm: More from Olney.  The Padres are aggressively shopping Peavy, with the Braves and Dodgers two possible suitors.  Olney’s sources believe Peavy will be dealt "in the weeks ahead."  The Padres want two young pitchers and a near MLB-ready center fielder in return.  The Braves and Dodgers could both meet that demand.

7:07pm: O’Brien has a new article up; he says the Braves and Padres have discussed Peavy.  Not much is known beyond that.  Paul DePodesta offers his thoughts on the situation, basically explaining that any player should be available for a compelling return.  Thus far, the Padres haven’t received a compelling offer for Peavy.

10:04am: It’s early in the process, but Jake Peavy’s availability has baseball fans all worked up.  As a reminder, Peavy prefers the NL.  He specifically likes Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and St. Louis.  He considers L.A. a particularly good fit and therefore is open to the Angels.  Peavy controls his fate, as he has a full no-trade clause.  On to today’s links:

Pierre Willing To Waive No-Trade Clause

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MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick talked to Juan Pierre’s agent Mark Pieper, who said Pierre would prefer a trade to a team where he can play more often.  He’s willing to waive his no-trade clause.  Pierre is singing the same tune as Andruw Jones, but both players have negative trade value.

Pierre’s biggest asset is staying healthy; that’s been true for many years.  He doesn’t help much on offense or defense.  His stolen bases don’t really add value.  Pierre has three years and $28.5MM left on his deal.  Perhaps he can be swapped for another bad contract.  Any suggestions?

Colletti Will Return As Dodgers GM

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After the Dodgers were eliminated last night, owner Frank McCourt said GM Ned Colletti will be back for the final year of his contract.  McCourt would not say whether he plans to discuss an extension with Colletti.

Colletti has a huge offseason ahead of him.  He has 14 potential free agents and important first-time arbitration cases for Russell Martin, Jonathan Broxton, and Andre Ethier.

Manny Quotes

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Manny Ramirez gave a few quotes last night after the Dodgers were eliminated:

"I just want to go home and spend some time with my family.  I want to see who is the highest bidder. Gas is up and so am I."

Manny on whether he wants to be in L.A.: "We’ll see."  Manny asked what he’s worth: "I guess you got to talk to my agent now.  I’m a five-tool player. That’s me now."   Hmmm…even Boras can’t convince anyone Manny brings speed or defense to the table.

On the high end, a six-year, $150MM deal has been suggested for Ramirez.  T.J. Simers suspects owner Frank McCourt would prefer to make a valiant effort and finish second in the bidding.  Buster Olney believes the Dodgers are better suited signing C.C. Sabathia.

Both Sides Want Furcal Return

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According to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, the Dodgers were not disillusioned by Rafael Furcal’s errors last night.  GM Ned Colletti said he’d like to have Furcal back.  Furcal said he wants to come back.  So if all goes according to plan, the best free agent-eligible shortstop will never hit the open market.

Back in December of 2005, Furcal received a four-year offers but chose the Dodgers’ three-year offer at more money per year.  He missed most of ’08 with a back injury, so maybe he’ll take a similar approach this winter and sign for one year to re-establish himself.  The Dodgers would probably prefer one year with a 2010 option and plenty of incentive-based money.

On the other hand, we could have a Magglio Ordonez situation.  When Maggs signed in January of ’05, he was coming off a 222 plate appearance season due to knee problems.  Ordonez had shock wave treatment in Austria on the knee and hired Scott Boras that winter.  Boras started out asking for seven years for the 31 year-old, and ended up getting five guaranteed with reasonable vesting options for two more seasons.  The Tigers would’ve been able to void the contract after one year if Ordonez spent 25+ days on the DL for recurrence of the knee injury.

Heyman’s Latest: K-Rod, Furcal, Blalock

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Non-Manny notes from Jon Heyman’s latest…

  • The Angels and Mets "appear hesitant" to give Francisco Rodriguez five years.  There’s not an obvious suitor to overpay K-Rod, but the Mets are the closest.
  • Heyman sees Brian Fuentes getting about $11MM per year.  Ken Rosenthal recently suggested even more money.
  • Doug Melvin could become a candidate for the Mariners job if the Brewers aren’t able to extend him.  Doesn’t seem to make sense since Melvin is signed through 2009.
  • Heyman believes Chris Antonetti in Cleveland is contractually guaranteed the GM job in the future.
  • The Dodgers will try to re-sign Rafael Furcal, no surprise there.
  • A scout sang the praises of Hank Blalock’s second-half hitting (.281/.324/.532 after the break).  Blalock may be on the trading block.

Six Years For Manny?

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5:45pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman also talked to Boras, and the word "iconic" was used.  Uh-oh.  Six years, $150MM?  Heyman sees the Yankees, Mets, and Blue Jays as suitors aside from the Dodgers.

4:36pm: When the idea of a six-year contract for slugger Manny Ramirez first surfaced (from Manny himself), it was not considered a serious possibility.  However, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman had a long conversation with Scott Boras, who strongly hinted that Manny legitimately deserves six years.

Boras points to Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez, two iconic players paid to age 42.  Boras brushed off the messy Boston exit, referring only to "internal issues that were a concern."

Here’s the thing about Boras: he says or strongly implies a lot of questionable things.  Recent examples:  12 years for A-Rod, the Cardinals failing to win the division in ’07 because they didn’t sign Jeff Weaver, and Oliver Perez not being erratic.  It’ll be a winter full of amusing Boras rhetoric, with Perez, Joe Crede, Eric Gagne, Felipe Lopez, Derek Lowe, Ivan Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, and Jason Varitek also eligible for free agency.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Manny, Mussina, Cano, Lowe

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Ken Rosenthal’s latest column at FOX Sports is jam-packed with rumors.

  • Manny Ramirez will generate plenty of interest on the free agent market; he wants at least four years.  There was a report earlier this month that Scott Boras expected to get five years.  The term will be a crucial factor.  Rosenthal names the Phillies, Mets, and Yankees as three teams that may pursue Manny.
  • The Mariners’ rebuilding effort will likely be spearheaded by a first-time GM, not an ideal scenario in the opinion of some baseball people.
  • The Dodgers lost Shane Victorino twice in the Rule 5 draft.  Tony Jackson had more details on that history a few days ago.
  • Rosenthal talked to friends of Mike Mussina who remain convinced he will retire.  Buster Olney got a different vibe recently.
  • Rosenthal notes that the Dodgers’ interest in Robinson Cano is "sincere," but it’s unknown what they’d give up for him.
  • Derek Lowe’s teammates say he has little interest in playing for the Mets or Yankees.
  • Back in ’07, Blake DeWitt was considered a possible throw-in in a proposed Joe Blanton to the Dodgers deal.  Rumor was the A’s wanted three frontline prospects from the Dodgers, DeWitt not among them.

Latest Peavy Chatter

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10:39am: More from Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune.  Peavy has a strong preference for the NL, and wants to play for a winner.  Axelrod mentioned Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and St. Louis as cities that fit for Peavy and his family.  Because of Peavy’s willingness to pitch in L.A., the Angels were named as a possibility by Axelrod.

8:27am: Let’s catch up on recent Jake Peavy articles.  Dan Hayes of the North County Times wrote about Peavy Monday, quoting Padres GM Kevin Towers saying nothing is imminent.  Hayes talked to several sources who say Peavy prefers to stay in the National League.  The Padres have already approached him with hypothetical trade scenarios (Peavy has to approve any trade).

Regarding that no-trade clause – Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod is on record saying three AL teams could entice his client.  But at the end of the season, Peavy said he wouldn’t accept a deal to the AL.  David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution spoke to someone claiming to be an old friend of Peavy’s.  The friend agrees that Peavy wouldn’t waive his no-trade clause for an AL team, despite his agent’s statement.

The friend gave O’Brien all kinds of info, making the Braves sound like Peavy’s top choice.  O’Brien adds that the Braves let Towers know they’re interested.  Even if Peavy is picky about his destination, though, there is no reason for Towers to accept a package that does not begin with Jason Heyward or Tommy Hanson.  He has plenty of time to explore possible Peavy trades.

The Cardinals may also be in the mix, according to Buster Olney.  Olney says that one team, "perhaps the Cardinals," is discussing the idea of adding Khalil Greene to a Peavy deal.

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