Manny Turns Down Dodgers’ One-Year Offer
1:33am: Ramirez has turned down the Dodgers’ one-year offer, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports. The Dodgers have confirmed it.
Hernandez lists the Mets, Giants and Nationals as teams that are monitoring Ramirez’ market.
The Dodgers could find themselves in a bind if Ramirez receives a multi-year offer from another club. If Ramirez is offered what he considers a fair deal, sources close to him say that he wouldn’t grant the Dodgers a chance to match it, forcing the Dodgers to go into Spring Training without their only star attraction and reliable run producer.
Hernandez believes the Dodgers could possibly pursue free agent outfielders Adam Dunn or Bobby Abreu if they don’t re-sign Ramirez.
9:11pm Monday: ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark reports that Ramirez and agent Scott Boras were given a 48-hour deadline to either accept or reject the offer.
7:40pm Monday: According to Tony Jackson of the Los Angeles Daily News, the Dodgers have made another offer to Manny Ramirez. This time it’s a one-year deal worth $25MM.
Dodgers GM Ned Colletti confirmed that the offer was made last night. "We are still trying to sign Manny, and we hope that this will make him happy,” Colletti said. The team’s first offer was two years, $45 million with a club option for 2011. As Jackson notes, these are the only known offers extended to Ramirez since he filed for free agency last fall.
The Market For Adam Dunn
Amazingly it’s February 1st and the one 40 home run bat on the free agent market, Adam Dunn, remains unsigned. We learned from Bobby Abreu‘s agent that his client is willing to consider a one-year deal, but Dunn’s rep Greg Genske is not as talkative (we saw that with C.C. Sabathia). Jerry Crasnick suggested way back on January 13th that Dunn sought a four-year, $56MM deal. On January 19th, Chico Harlan talked to one agent who will be surprised if Dunn gets more than one year, $5MM.
Let’s review the recent Dunn rumors.
- David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution guesses Dunn might be the Braves’ fourth choice, after Abreu, Nick Swisher, and Xavier Nady.
- ESPN’s Jayson Stark heard that Dunn is "waiting to see what happens with Manny Ramirez because the Dodgers are his preferred destination." Stark says it’s clear the Nationals aren’t Dunn’s top choice, and MLB.com’s Bill Ladson says the slugger is currently out of their price range anyway. Stark characterized the Orioles’ attitude toward Dunn as "back-burner interest."
- Dunn’s friend and Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman had this to say, according to Pete McElroy of MASN: "He’s told me he’d like to play here, but I’m sure he’s told people in Milwaukee or whoever else is going after him that he’d like to play there too."
- Could Dunn return to the Reds? Not going to happen, says John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. We learned that the Brewers will pass, based on Adam McCalvy’s conversation with Doug Melvin.
- Ken Rosenthal wrote on January 14th that the Red Sox have shown interest in Dunn, but admitted "they touch base with virtually every top free agent" and the match is probably a longshot.
O’Brien On Braves’ Outfield Options
David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the Braves’ quest to add a power-hitting outfielder:
We think they’d like to make it one of these guys, maybe in this order of preference: 1. Bobby Abreu (we’ll explain), 2. Xavier Nady or Nick Swisher (both Yankees, one or the other expected to be traded), and 4. (there can’t be a No. 3 if two guys are tied for No. 2) Adam Dunn, whose asking price (reportedly $14MM per year) is still way, waaay above what the Braves have to spend.
O’Brien says the Braves have roughly $5-9MM to work with, and they also hope to sign Will Ohman and Tom Glavine. O’Brien then runs through the pros and cons of adding Abreu, Nady, Swisher, and Dunn.
Stark On Greinke, Manny, Dunn, Swisher
The latest from ESPN’s Jayson Stark…
- The Cubs’ ownership situation is not close to the finish line, which is one reason the team won’t be acquiring Jake Peavy anytime soon.
- One source of Stark’s suggested Zack Greinke nearly left his current agent John Courtright of SFX for Scott Boras, a whisper I’d heard as well. But now Greinke is happy with his contract and agent.
- Free agents such as Manny Ramirez and Ivan Rodriguez could reasonably wait until March to sign. Not a bad thing for this website!
- Adam Dunn would like Manny to sign earlier, as he’s waiting to see what the Dodgers (his preferred team) do. The Nationals have been Dunn’s most aggressive suitor, the Orioles have mild interest, and the Braves have backed off.
- Stark questions the idea of talks for Manny heating up lately, since the Mets, Yankees, and Angels are out and the Giants are only conditionally interested.
- When Alex Rodriguez was a free agent last winter, Joe Torre advised the Dodgers against signing him.
- The Phillies would like to move Geoff Jenkins for a right-handed hitting outfielder, but Jenkins is paid too much. Jay Payton and Emil Brown are not on the Phillies’ radar; they still like Nomar Garciaparra.
- The Yankees are apparently "softening to the idea of trading Nick Swisher," with the Braves the top suitor.
Nationals Rumors: Zimmerman, Dunn, Bowden
Chico Harlan of the Washington Post has all kinds of observations from NatsFest.
- Nationals president Stan Kasten expressed his distaste for free agent pitching contracts, but might consider it if the team is closer to contention.
- A quote from Kasten regarding the Ryan Zimmerman extension talks: "I know it’s just a coincidence that [Zimmerman and Ryan Howard] have the same agent who doesn’t seem to like to do long-term contracts before free agency." That’s a reference to Casey Close. Currently the two sides have a $1.15MM gap on Zimmerman’s ’09 salary.
- Zimmerman is friends with Adam Dunn, who would love to play for the Nationals.
- GM Jim Bowden expects the free agent market to get moving within the next ten days. Bowden still hopes to add a left-handed middle of the order bat as well as starting pitching.
Madden On The Slow Free Agent Market
Bill Madden of the New York Daily News has an article up that talks about the lack of activity in the free agent market.
Madden cites an interesting prediction from an unnamed baseball executive near the end of his report. He writes:
The same executive predicted that most of the over-30 free agents left on the market will wind up having to settle for one-year deals "because, with all the uncertainty about the next couple of years, clubs just don’t want to commit risky money on older players or players with injury histories."
Griffey Jr. Market Remains Quiet
Hal McCoy at the Dayton Daily News has a story up about Ken Griffey Jr.‘s offseason thus far.
Brian Goldberg, Griffey’s agent, is quoted in the article as saying there was some mutual interest between Griffey and the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays’ signing of Pat Burrell ended that interest, however.
Perhaps the most noteworthy thing to take from this article is the lack of any specific teams being mentioned going foward. The market for corner outfielders with declining defense remains quiet, as players like Griffey, Bobby Abreu, Adam Dunn, and Manny Ramirez continue to look for a contract.
Nationals Still Interested In Hudson, Dunn
According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson the Nationals still have interest in Orlando Hudson and Adam Dunn. So far both players’ demands have exceeded the Nats’ budget, but GM Jim Bowden said the team still has interest in acquiring free agent hitters.
The rotation, on the other hand, could enter Spring Training as is. The Nationals have no interest in Josh Fogg because they are content with a rotation of Collin Balester, Daniel Cabrera, John Lannan, Scott Olsen and Jordan Zimmermann. MASN reports that Bowden said he’s interested in adding "one or two more starting pitchers" if the circumstances are right.
Adam Dunn’s Price Might Be Falling
Chico Harlan of the Washington Post spoke with an agent Monday who believes Adam Dunn "will get a max of $5MM per year" this offseason.
"Anything more than that and I’d be surprised," added the unnamed agent. Dunn is reportedly still seeking a four-year, $56MM deal. Harlan notes that there are no big market teams in the running and he’s highly unlikely to get those desired figures. "That’s why Dunn just might end up in Washington, the one team that unequivocally wants the guy," the report concludes.
Olney’s Latest: Manny, Abreu, Dunn
Buster Olney reports that Scott Boras seems to be taking the same approach with Manny Ramirez as he did with Derek Lowe; that is, to wait.
Olney says "Camp Manny" is "waiting for some other team to be tempted by what Ramirez could do for them, waiting for an offer larger than that made by the Dodgers to develop."
The Dodgers are waiting as well. Olney reports they are not likely to increase their offer of 2 years, $45MM that was offered and promptly ignored in November. Also waiting for something to happen are Bobby Abreu and Adam Dunn. Should Manny wind up on the Giants, Abreu and Dunn may find themselves with leverage to negotiate with the Dodgers. Olney writes, "And given that Dunn and Abreu know that they can find homes at any time for one-year deals, there really is no downside for them to see how the Ramirez situation plays out."