By Tim Dierkes | at
Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times talked to Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, who said Manny Ramirez is the team’s first choice. Colletti hasn’t heard from Manny’s agent Scott Boras since Mark Teixeira signed a week ago. As reported yesterday, the Dodgers have interest in Adam Dunn and Bobby Abreu as backup plans. Pat Burrell and Garret Anderson are not on the team’s radar.
Shaikin reiterates Marty Noble’s story from yesterday – talks to unload Andruw Jones on the Mets fizzled a while ago.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post has the latest on the Rockies’ pursuit for back-end starting pitching.
The Rox "remain firmly in the mix" for free agent Tim Redding, who also has the Mets and Orioles in pursuit. Renck suggests the Orioles’ signing of Mark Hendrickson could cause them to back off, though Jeff Zrebiec wrote today that the Orioles want to add at least two starters.
Jason Marquis is also on Colorado’s radar, but they "can’t absorb hardly any" of his $9.875MM salary. The Cubs are seemingly looking to save at least $3-4MM here. Renck adds that Josh Fogg is another possibility for the Rockies, on a minor league deal.
By Ben Nicholson-Smith | at
Buster Olney focuses his new column on reluctant-to-spend teams and how they’ve changed the market. He turns up some interesting rumors…
By Dan Slowey | at
Now that Mark Teixeira has found a home in New York, the Mets would like to talk with two other Scott Boras clients about following suit, Ben Shpigel of the New York Times reports. The Mets are interested in Derek Lowe and Oliver Perez, in that order, and believe that the market may be shaping up to allow them to obtain their first choice. Nothing is imminent for the Mets at this time.
With the Yankees (almost) definitely out of the picture, and the Red Sox seemingly focused more on hitting, the Mets are optimistic that they can get Lowe for considerably less than the five-year $90MM deal he was rumored to be looking for initially. If for some reason this doesn’t work out, the enigmatic Perez would be their next choice, Shpigel says.
Lowe, 35, had a 3.24 ERA in 211 innings for the Dodgers in 2008. Perez, 27, had a 4.22 ERA in 194 innings for the Mets.
By Ben Jones | at
1:38pm: The New York Daily News has, essentially, the same report. Roger Rubin writes that Derek Lowe is a top priority for the New York Mets, but nothing’s imminent. Something could happen during the next week, though.
Rubin sees the Boston Red Sox as being competition for Lowe’s services.
9:48am: Mets general manager Omar Minaya told Kat O’Brien of Newsday to “Go enjoy the holiday” and that nothing was happening on the New York Mets’ front today.
Minaya did say the team has been talking to free-agent starting pitchers, including Derek Lowe, Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf.
As far as outfielder Manny Ramirez, “a Mets source” told O’Brien in the same article that the Mets will not sign him.
By | at
A couple of links from around the baseball world on a slow Christmas Eve…
By Ben Jones | at
4:31pm: Rob Neyer’s latest post on ESPN.com discusses what Ramirez’ chances are to claim himself a big contract. Neyer doesn’t like the odds. His guess is two years for $45MM. He lists the Dodgers as the likely match.
8:55am: Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger tells us to take the New York Mets off the Manny List. Graziano writes that GM Omar Minaya is having trouble selling Ramirez to ownership, despite how well he would fit in with the team. He adds that despite the Red Sox missing out on Mark Teixeira to the Yankees on Tuesday, Ramirez had a worse day. As Graziano puts it, “Because, honestly, where is he going to go now?”
8:01am: Common sense tells T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times that Manny’s best — and possibly only — option is a contract with the Dodgers. He wonders if the Dodgers and owner Frank McCourt really even want Ramirez to return. Regardless, Simers doesn’t see the slugger ending up with a small- or mid-market franchise.
Jesse Spector of the N.Y. Daily News writes the New York Yankees could still sign Manny, even after taking on more than $400MM in payroll in the past week, and have a 2009 payroll less than the 2008 version. His hypothesis hinges on not bringing back left-hander Andy Pettitte and trading Hideki Matsui in particular.
By Ben Jones | at
Boston.com, the Boston Globe Web site, is reporting with a background source that Derek Lowe is close to a deal with the New York Mets. The post indicates the deal could be three to four years in the neighborhood of $15MM/season.
The N.Y. Daily News and N.Y. Post each have related stories to the Mets’ interest in Derek Lowe.
John Harper’s Daily News story indicates a deal could be reached between Christmas and New Year’s.
Ben Shpigel of the N.Y. Times writes that if the Mets sign Lowe, they might need to thank the Yankees.
By Tim Dierkes | at
8:19pm: Dan Graziano says Omar Minaya is unable to convince Mets ownership to allow him to pursue Manny, much to Scott Boras’ chagrin. Will Manny have to go crawling back to the Dodgers, as Graziano puts it?
2:07pm: MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger talked to Angels GM Tony Reagins, who said:
"Manny Ramirez will not play for the Angels in 2009, or beyond, for that matter."
By Tim Dierkes | at
According to Yahoo’s Gordon Edes, the Mets are deep in negotiations with free agent starter Derek Lowe. However, the Mets have yet to make an offer.
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