Dodgers Rumors: Manny, Andruw, Saito
Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times has the latest on the Dodgers, as well as free agent pitcher Pedro Martinez.
- Nothing much to report with Manny Ramirez – there has been no new offer from the Dodgers yet but the two sides are still talking. That two-year $45MM offer Scott Boras dissed isn’t looking too bad anymore.
- Boras is "just looking for a situation" for Andruw Jones. I see. Boras had a meeting in November with Ned Colletti and Joe Torre and the three decided to rework the contract and get him out of L.A.
- Hernandez says Trevor Hoffman remains a possibility but the Dodgers haven’t heard back from Takashi Saito.
- The Dodgers are not pursuing Pedro, but he’s narrowed his choices to two teams in each league according to his agent.
- Diamond Leung tells us the Dodgers signed infielder Juan Castro to a minor league deal.
Reds Still Looking At Baldelli, Hairston Jr.
The Cincinnati Reds remain interested in free agents Rocco Baldelli and Jerry Hairston Jr., MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reports.
Reds general manager Walt Jocketty told Sheldon that he has talked with their agent, Casey Close, during the weekend.
Jocketty said that he expects something to happen this week with regard to Hairston Jr.
The Reds have had no talks with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Andruw Jones and appear not to be interested, Sheldon notes.
The Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Fay also spoke with Jocketty. In addition to the Reds’ stance on Baldelli, Hairston Jr. and Jones, Fay notes that the Reds won’t be trading first baseman Joey Votto.
Jocketty also told Fay that Votto (Canada), Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto (Dominican Republic) might play in the World Baseball Classic.
Odds and Ends: Andruw, Marquis, Coonelly
Links for Monday…
- In his first post for RotoAuthority, David Chase looks at players who were said to have lost weight or gained muscle during Spring Training ’08. How did they perform in ’08?
- The Red Sox inked infielder Nick Green to a minor league deal.
- Murray Chass explains why the New York Times Company’s purchase of a share of the Red Sox was a conflict of interest.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik: "We’ve got an offer out right now for a piece of the puzzle, and I’d hope to hear in the next few days."
- David Laurila talked to new Mariners exec Tony Blengino. One of many interesting quotes (in reference to the Bill Bavasi regime and the ’07 club): "I thought that it was clear going in that, with all due respect, they overrated their team from the last year."
The Yankees will introduce Mark Teixeira tomorrow. He passed his physical today. - River Ave. Blues and Peter Abraham ask whether the Yankees should consider Andruw Jones. Evan Brunell looks at other possible fits.
- The Dodgers talked to the Cubs about Jason Marquis, according to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick.
- Pirates president Frank Coonelly joins Mark Attanasio (Brewers) and Drayton McLane (Astros) in supporting a salary cap.
- Jeff Moorad might be aggressive in the draft if he takes over the Padres. Tom Krasovic adds that the Padres have already discussed spending up to $6MM on their #3 pick this June.
- Keith Law likes the Angels’ Brian Fuentes signing, and doesn’t think the Indians gave up much for Mark DeRosa.
- If the Indians are to add another significant player, they’ll have to get creative with contracts.
- RAB and In Mo We Trust discuss Kevin Kernan’s recent suggestion that the Yanks sign Oliver Perez over Andy Pettitte.
- A couple of recent Hot Stove Dailies from Jeff Passan: the Braves and A’s.
- Athletics Nation asks whether Brian Sabean is "out-GMing" Billy Beane this winter.
- Sox Machine on why the Gavin Floyd–Brian Roberts rumor makes no sense.
Olney’s Latest: Andruw Jones
Buster Olney says that despite the Dodgers’ restructuring of Andruw Jones‘ contract, serious regression in his abilities has resulted in minimal interest around the league. The Reds are not a good fit and the Mets aren’t interested. Regression may be directly related to a weight increase that could jeopardize his career. Olney writes,
"There is not a lot of confidence in the minds of evaluators that Jones is a candidate for a body transformation… he has never been known as a workout freak… he has looked bad in winter ball this year, reports one highly ranked executive.
The Dodgers will probably end up releasing him before spring training, and somebody will give him a chance — and he needs to show something, in a hurry, because there is a perception within the industry that he might be finished, despite his age, despite the fact that he slammed 41 homers in 2006."
Jones is owed only $5MM next season.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Saturday
10:11pm: Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the Giants want to wait until the corner outfield market is "more precisely defined" before pursuing Manny. He adds that the Giants are unlikely to enter a bidding war so they need more financial flexibility than usual from Boras.
10:45am: Buster Olney adds that rival executives have "major doubts" about the Giants’ willingness to spend enough to sign Manny, especially in the midst of a recession. Olney points out that trading Randy Winn or Aaron Rowand to clear payroll would likely yield very little in the current market.
9:13am: Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle carefully summarizes the Giants’ interest in Manny Ramirez to kick off the day’s Manny rumors.
Schulman reminds us that the Giants have talked with Scott Boras about Manny and writes that this is "not another case of Boras just trying to drum up another suitor."
That said, their interest is far from "an all-out assault on Ramirez in a bid to get him." They’re simply intrigued.
Like any team at this point in the year, the Giants are apparently considering other free agents and "trying to make trades." In other words, they’re interested, but they have other options.
Dodgers Rework Andruw Jones Deal
SATURDAY, 11:23am: Buster Olney’s sources tell him that Jones will receive the $15MM he’s owed in 2009 over the next six seasons, without interest. Apparently the Dodgers are likely to call the Braves, Reds and Mets about potential trades. One source familiar with the discussions said it’s virtually certain that the Mets won’t be interested.
11:55pm: Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times says the deal cuts Jones’ 2009 salary to about $5MM. The Dodgers agreed to trade or release him; interested teams may prefer to wait for the latter. Shaikin says the Jones restructuring is independent of the Manny Ramirez situation.
7:51pm: Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports that the Major League Players Association has approved the contract agreement, which will defer Jones’ remaining salary. According to an industry source, Jones will either be traded or released before the start of spring training and perhaps sometime this month.
FRIDAY, 2:38pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Dodgers and Jones have agreed to rework his contract to save the team $12MM in ’09. Jones is likely to play for another team in the coming season.
THURSDAY, 9:55pm: As pointed out in the comments section below, Andruw’s ’09 salary could be deferred across several years and would thus gain interest, resulting in a higher total payout. That could work for both sides. A blog called Fantasy Sports Experience recalls a similar situation with the Mets and Bobby Bonilla in 2000.
9:40pm: Ken Gurnick of MLB.com has confirmed that Jones’ contract is being reworked. It could be an extension or a deferred buyout.
9:00pm: I just spoke with Simers, who tells me that the Dodgers "would do the deal with Scott Boras." Jones’ 2009 salary "would be reduced to make him attractive" to possible suitors in a trade. And the agreement would essentially free up money on the Dodgers’ side that would head directly towards Ramirez, another Boras client. But it’s still unclear why Jones would want to take the paycut. Is Boras going to pay the man out of his own pocket? This kind of dealing is unheard of in the sports world, but you can never doubt the almighty Scott Boras.
8:38pm: T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times has heard that the Dodgers are working on a deal to unload outfielder Andruw Jones.
Simers claims that the deal would save the team $12MM and "send the guy, who couldn’t hit a thing, seeking employment elsewhere." Jones is in the final year of a two-year contract and is set to make around $15MM in ’09. He’s not just going to forfeit that money, so it’s not exactly clear what kind of a "deal" the article is speaking of. A trade? Buyouts don’t typically happen in baseball. Nonetheless, Simers is onto something and it appears the Dodgers are readying the cash to make an offer to Manny Ramirez.
Odds And Ends: Red Sox, Andruw, Roberts
Links for Saturday…
- At the bottom of an interesting article about baseball’s youth movement, Peter Gammons adds that the Red Sox-Marlins Hanley Ramirez discussions "lasted all of 20 seconds" according to a Marlins official.
- Yahoo’s Tim Brown speculates that the Nationals could have interest in Andruw Jones. I can see the Blue Jays taking him on if they can make it work financially.
- Roch Kubatko cautions fans from reading too much into discussions about a Brian Roberts–Gavin Floyd trade.
- Peter Schmuck hasn’t heard much on the Roberts front, but wouldn’t mind seeing the Orioles trade him for Floyd, even if they don’t acquire anyone else in the deal.
- In another post, Schmuck argues that there’s nothing wrong with the Mark Hendrickson signing.
- Ryan Dempster has heard good things about Milton Bradley and hopes he joins the Cubs.
- The Yankees have no need for Manny Ramirez, Erik Bedard or over-the-top position swaps, in Peter Abraham’s opinion.
- Jeff Moorad- who’s leading the group poised to buy the Padres- was a record-setting agent in his day. Tom Krasovic looks back at Moorad’s earlier career.
- NPB Tracker compares Japanese teams before and after losing their stars to MLB.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Friday
11:00pm: Schulman says the Giants have had conversations with Boras about Manny, but have not extended a formal offer. Nothing is imminent, and the Giants are considering other options via trade and free agency.
3:33pm: The Chronicle’s Henry Schulman doesn’t have anything new on the KPIX report yet. But he’s heard that the Dodgers offered Manny $60MM over three years at some point and were turned down.
2:40pm: MLB.com’s Chris Haft splashes some cold water on the KPIX-TV rumor. His sources say recent reports linking the Giants to Manny are overblown. The Dodgers may be the only truly interested team currently. Haft says the Giants are looking to add a corner infield bat instead (they’ve been linked to Edwin Encarnacion and Jorge Cantu in the past, among others).
1:30pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman was able to confirm that the Giants entered the bidding for Manny. He says the Dodgers remain interested, and that "some baseball people" aren’t writing off the Angels despite Tony Reagins’ public statement. Heyman adds that one or two other AL teams are on the periphery, the Yankees not among them.
6:05am: There’s a rumor making the rounds from Dennis O’Donnell of KPIX-TV of San Francisco. O’Donnell says the Giants have offered Manny Ramirez a four-year deal. Reasons to treat the report with skepticism:
- O’Donnell says it’s a fourth-year club option, so it was inaccurate to call it a four-year offer.
- We haven’t heard anything about this from the Giants beat writers or national reporters, who have a better track record than television stations. Henry Schulman covers the Giants for the San Francisco Chronicle, and he says the team "could consider Ramirez under very specific financial conditions." He was probably not referring to a three or four-year offer.
- O’Donnell was told by a team spokeman, "It’s not happening." Scott Boras’ publicist "had no knowledge of any negotiations with the Giants," according to O’Donnell.
Boras And Dodgers: Ready To Talk
According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, the Dodgers and agent Scott Boras are finally gearing up for Manny Ramirez negotiations.
As was reported yesterday, Boras left a voicemail for Dodgers GM Ned Colletti on Tuesday. Well, Colletti shot him back a voicemail Wednesday morning and the two are expected to finish their game of phone tag after the New Year’s holiday. The Dodgers, of course, made a two-year, $45 million offer with an option for a third during the Winter Meetings in November.
Nationals Not Interested In Manny Ramirez
Bill Ladson of MLB.com has been told by a baseball source that reports of the Nationals’ interest in Manny Ramirez are false.
Ladson notes two fairly obvious reasons why Manny isn’t a good fit in D.C.:
- The Nationals are overloaded with right-handed hitting outfielders. They already have righties Josh Willingham, Lastings Milledge, Elijah Dukes, Austin Kearns and Wily Mo Pena under contract for ’08.
- And the obvious one: His age. Ramirez is 36. The Nats won a league-low 59 games last season and need to build for the long-term before they go signing old, high-priced free agents with big egos.
- Let’s not forget Jim Bowden’s November 12th quote: We are not pursuing Manny Ramirez."