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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Manny, Braves Howard, Mets, Nomar, Sheets

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On this date 51 years ago, the Red Sox signed Ted Williams to a one-year deal for $135K – making him the highest paid player in Major League history. This contract came on the heels of a season in which Williams hit .388-38-87 with a .526 OBP and 233 OPS+. And all of that was at age 38. With one week to go before pitchers and catchers report, several players in the twilight of their career are still looking for contracts of their own. Let’s take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

  • River Ave. Blues says a one-year deal for Manny Ramirez in L.A. would open the door to Manny being Manny in pinstripes next year.
  • Feeling Dodger Blue takes a look at options for the Dodgers other than Manny.
  • Braves Blast sees Bobby Abreu as a better fit for the Braves than Adam Dunn and a better option than trading for Xavier Nady or Nick Swisher.
  • The Phrontiersman argues for trading Ryan Howard.
  • UmpBump continues their "Hot Offseason Action" series, this time looking at the Red Sox, their offseason moves and how the roster might look on opening day.
  • Mets Geek breaks down the Mets offseason.
  • The ’Ropolitans say the Mets’ bullpen still needs work and wonders why they don’t go after one of the remaining big-name relievers on the market.
  • Detroit Tigers Thoughts notes that if Orlando Hudson wants to sign a one-year deal after the June draft, he is more likely to lose his type-A free agent status next season if he signs with an NL club this season.
  • Goat Riders of the Apocalypse feels that Nomar Garciaparra would make a nice backup shortstop for the Cubs.
  • More Hardball puts together an All-Star squad of players still available on the free agent market.
  • MLB Notebook takes a look at which teams might be interested in signing Ben Sheets for the second half.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.

Stark On Andruw, Swisher, Hudson, Pedro

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The latest from ESPN’s Jayson Stark…

  • Stark looks at all the factors influencing this year’s slow-moving free agent market, talking to all sorts of anonymous execs.  It’s a good read.
  • Among all the teams, the Phillies have added the most to their payroll this winter ($30MM+).  Only ten teams raised payroll this year.  The Phils are still looking at the same cast of righthanded bench bats, and are also looking to sign a reliever for one year.  Names of interest: Joe Borowski, Rudy Seanez, Will Ohman, Joe Beimel, Dennys Reyes, and Randy Flores.  Stark notes that Flores is out until June due to shoulder surgery.
  • Andruw Jones is looking for a team that will give him playing time.  One of Stark’s sources says Braves manager Bobby Cox is "lobbying harder for Jones than the rest of the baseball operation."
  • The Braves are the top suitor for Nick Swisher, but their suggestion that the Yankees eat some of Swisher’s contract was shot down.
  • Stark has heard that Angels owner Arte Moreno is ticked at Scott Boras and Mark Teixeira for the way they handled negotiations.
  • Stark received conflicting answers on whether the Elias formulas "can be changed without a special negotiation."  It figures that the players union would push to eliminate the Jason Varitek/Juan Cruz/Orlando Cabrera situations we saw this winter.  The D’Backs may have interest in re-signing Cruz, but don’t look for a Cabrera-White Sox reunion.
  • The Yankees and Mets have not pursued Orlando Hudson, despite Hudson’s statements of their interest.  Stark sees a one-year deal with the Nationals or Dodgers in his future. 
  • One assistant GM doesn’t think the WBC will be a good gauge for Pedro Martinez’s abilities, since he’ll be doing short stints.
  • Stark has details on Eddie Guardado’s contract, which has interesting provisions if he is to be traded.

Heyman On Andruw, Pedro, Crede, Grudz

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The latest from SI.com’s Jon Heyman…

  • The Yankees offered a minor league deal to Andruw Jones, which he turned down.  Other teams "thought to have interest": the Rangers, Phillies, Braves, and Mets.
  • Heyman thinks Pedro Martinez makes a lot of sense for the Dodgers.  However, Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times learned from Ned Colletti on January 6th that the Dodgers weren’t among the teams pursuing Pedro.
  • Jason Varitek’s camp (ie, Scott Boras) apparently has no regrets about rejecting arbitration since it wouldn’t have been a guaranteed contract.
  • Chad Cordero’s next showcase is scheduled for February 19th.
  • Heyman has the Twins as favorites over the Giants to sign Joe Crede.  More on Crede here.
  • Heyman says the Yankees feel they’re more likely to find a deal for Nick Swisher than Xavier Nady.
  • Add Mark Grudzielanek to the list of right-handed hitters the Phillies are considering (Nomar Garciaparra, Rich Aurilia, and Moises Alou being the others).

Mets, Phillies Interested In Will Ohman

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According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, Mets GM Omar Minaya contacted Will Ohman’s agent Page Odle for the first time this winter.  Crasnick says the Mets hope to jump in and get a bargain on the lefty reliever. 

Additionally, Crasnick counters the Ken Rosenthal report that the Phillies decided not to pursue Ohman.  The Phillies are still talking to Odle about Ohman, but don’t have much more than $1MM to spend unless they move a contract.

Jays, Kevin Millar Close To Deal

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According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, first baseman Kevin Millar is "almost certain" to sign a minor league deal with the Blue Jays today or tomorrow.  The Mets, Yankees, Nationals, and Rangers had also been in on Millar.  Rich Aurilia has been recommended for the Mets by several writers, but Joel Sherman of the New York Post learned they’ve yet to make contact with his agent.

Millar, 37, hit .234/.323/.394 in 610 plate appearances last year.

Phillies, Giants Considering Rich Aurilia

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ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick spoke to Rich Aurilia’s agent Barry Axelrod, who said the Orioles’ Ty Wigginton signing might move things along for his client.  The Giants and Phillies had been interested in Wiggy and maintain interest in Aurilia.  Ken Davidoff of Newsday would like to see the Mets get in on him.

Ken Rosenthal wrote earlier today that the Phillies also continue to monitor Nomar Garciaparra, who is "trying to decide whether he is physically sound enough to play next season."

Mets Shopping Ramon Castro?

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According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post:

I hear the Mets  keep trying to find a place to deal Ramon Castro. They have two reasons: 1) Mainly they want to get rid of his $2.5 million 2009 contract, allowing them a little more available cash to address a righty bat or lefty reliever they crave. 2) They believe that for near minimum wage Robinson Cancel can be just as good a backup to Brian Schneider as Castro.  I heard the Brewers had some interest, but have mostly backed off of Castro now.

Castro, 33 in March, hit .245/.312/.441 last year in 157 plate appearances (he spent time on the DL for a strained quad and hamstring).  He’s shown good power in limited duty.  He had two issues in ’08: his pain tolerance was questioned by Jerry Manuel, and he arrived late to a June game.  He’s set to earn $2.5MM in ’09 before he reaches free agency.

It seems unlikely the Marlins would reacquire Castro; his final year with them in ’04 was marked by rape charges that eventually led to a no-contest plea for misdemeanor assault.  Castro’s salary would be the more obvious obstacle for them.

Manny Ramirez Rumors: Tuesday

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11:33pm: According to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick, Scott Boras said he expects to resume contract talks for Ramirez with the Dodgers on Wednesday.  The Manny rumors were fractured into various posts today at MLBTR – here’s the one about the Mets not being involved, and here’s the one about Ramirez rejecting the Dodgers’ one-year, $25MM offer. 

We also have an article from David Waldstein of the New York Times, where Yankees GM Brian Cashman says:

"People expect us to get in on Manny, but it’s not going to happen.  We’re in the nonroster invitee mode.  He’s a great player, but when you look at our payroll, we’re tapped."

9:39pm: Bobby Evans, Giants VP of Player Personnel, appeared Tuesday night on XM Radio’s Home Plate show.  Manny was obviously a hot topic.  Check out some of the quotes from the interview:

"Manny is amongst a number of different options out there, he’s clearly the most renowned player and probably future hall of famer, so you can’t deny interest if there’s an opportunity to bring him to the Giants."

"We’re going to monitor the market of him, it doesn’t seem to be going down, although he did turn down this offer, it was a 1 year offer verse a 2 year offer that was for more money. Again ultimately I don’t know which way it will go, but we’re going to stay engaged and see what happens."

8:48pm: Chris Haft of MLB.com makes a case for the Giants signing Manny.  Unlike the Nationals, who made their stance known almost immediately, Giants officials refused to comment Tuesday after news broke that the Dodgers’ offer was rejected.

7:35pm: Nationals GM Jim Bowden reaffirmed Tuesday evening that his club is not in the hunt for Manny Ramirez.  Bill Ladson filed the report for MLB.com.

"We are not pursuing Manny Ramirez," Bowden said.  As Ladson points out, "the Nationals are overloaded with right-handed-hitting outfielders, plus he’s 36 years old. The Nationals have often said that they are looking for players for the long term."

The Nats have focused on landing Adam Dunn and reportedly offered him a contract some time ago.  He should come at a cheaper price than Manny and Washington can feel more comfortable offering the 29-year-old Dunn a mutli-year contract.

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