Dodgers Talking Trade With White Sox
7:39pm: Ramirez has told friends that he would waive his no-trade clause to approve a deal to the White Sox, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter).
6:50pm: Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times hears that the Dodgers and White Sox are discussing a potential Ramirez trade (Twitter link).
5:43pm: The Dodgers are preparing for trade talks with the White Sox, according to Toni Ginnetti of the Chicago Sun-Times. The Dodgers are reviewing scouting reports on some of Chicago’s minor leaguers, since the White Sox have previously shown interest in Manny Ramirez, who hit the waiver wire today. Ginnetti reports that the Dodgers “appeared to be trying to negotiate a trade” instead of handing Ramirez and his salary over.
All National League teams have to pass on Ramirez for the White Sox to trade for him, but the Dodgers seem to be anticipating a claim by Chicago. As ESPN.com's Buster Olney pointed out on Twitter today, any team that takes on Ramirez's salary would be "committing $4MM for a player whose last hit came 57 days ago." The slugging left fielder has struggled to hit in the majors since returning from the disabled list, but the White Sox could use an upgrade at DH.
Poll: Will A National League Team Claim Ramirez?
We’ve heard a lot of talk about the White Sox and Manny Ramirez, but for Chicago to have a shot at the unpredictable slugger, half of baseball’s teams have to let him pass through waivers. National League teams have priority for NL players, so the White Sox don’t have any chance of obtaining Ramirez if one of the Dodgers’ NL rivals makes a claim first.
The White Sox are presumably hoping that doesn’t happen, but it's not a foregone conclusion that every National League team will pass on Ramirez. One baseball person who spoke to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times thinks an NL team will make a claim (Twitter link).
Any team claiming Ramirez would have to be prepared to take on $4.4MM in salary, but $3.4MM of that total is deferred. For the season, Ramirez has a .306/.396/.497 line, though he has struggled since returning from the disabled list.
Will a National League team claim Manny Ramirez?
Click here to take the survey and here to view the results.
Manny Ramirez On Waivers
The Dodgers placed Manny Ramirez on waivers, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. As Morosi explains, teams have until Friday to claim Ramirez. If there's a claim, the Dodgers will have until next Tuesday to work out a trade.
The Pirates have the National League's worst record, so they get first dibs on Ramirez. If every NL team from the Pirates to the Padres passes on Ramirez, American League teams will have the chance to claim the slugger. That's when things could get interesting; the White Sox intend to claim Ramirez, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Since they have a worse record than any other AL contender, Chicago will have the chance to claim Ramirez if he makes it past all 15 NL clubs.
As ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reported earlier in the week, about three quarters of Ramirez’s salary is deferred. That means he makes just $1.1MM between now and the end of the season despite his hefty $20MM salary. Ramirez earns the remaining $3.4MM in deferred payments, which would presumably make his salary easier to absorb.
Click here for more details on trading in August.
Heyman On Minaya, White Sox, D’Backs
The 63-62 Mets likely need a “big finish” for GM Omar Minaya to return in the same role next year, people familiar with the team tell Jon Heyman of SI.com. Minaya’s contract guarantees him about $1MM in 2011 and the same amount in 2012, but the Mets would still consider firing or reassigning Minaya. Here are the details on the Mets, plus the rest of Heyman’s rumors:
- Disappointing and expensive Minaya additions like Jason Bay and Francisco Rodriguez aren’t doing their GM any favors. Mets execs haven’t been impressed with all of Minaya’s major signings.
- Heyman lists Kevin Towers, Pat Gillick and in-house candidates John Ricco and Wayne Krivsky as potential replacements for Minaya.
- A person connected to the White Sox says the team offered the Dodgers two proposals for Manny Ramirez at the end of July, but received no counter-offers. Ken Rosenthal reported today that the White Sox will claim Manny if he reaches them on waivers.
- Heyman says it would be “a surprise if Kirk Gibson isn't retained” as D’Backs manager next year. Interim GM Jerry Dipoto also has a “decent chance” of keeping his job.
White Sox Will Claim Manny Ramirez
The White Sox will claim Manny Ramirez with the intention of acquiring him once he's placed on waivers by the Dodgers, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets that GM Kenny Williams is pushing all his chips on getting Ramirez, according to an MLB source. Manny has not yet been placed on waivers, based on reports, even though the Dodgers gained the ability to do so yesterday.
With a .540 winning percentage, the White Sox are the first AL contending team in the waiver order if Ramirez makes it past the NL unclaimed. Rosenthal says the Rays and Rangers are also interested in Manny.
Ramirez has $4.46MM left on his contract at the moment, though about $3.34MM of that is deferred without interest. Assuming Manny approves the assignment, the Dodgers might be willing to dump his contract just for salary relief.
Ramirez would certainly provide a boost to the White Sox as their designated hitter, if he can stay healthy. He's hitting .312/.404/.508 in 223 plate appearances this year, a down year in rate stats only by his lofty standard.
Manny Ramirez Likely To Hit Waivers This Week
There’s a good chance Manny Ramirez will be placed on waivers early this week and traded later this month, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. Ramirez, who was not placed on waivers today, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark, would have to approve any trade or waiver claim because he has a full no-trade clause.
About three quarters of Ramirez’s salary is deferred, so he makes just $1.1MM between now and the end of the season despite his hefty $20MM salary. Ramirez earns the remaining $3.4MM in deferred payments, which would presumably make his salary easier to absorb.
The Dodgers are now 8.0 games out of a playoff spot, so they would likely be open to trading Ramirez, who recently returned from the disabled list. The Rays, White Sox and Rangers are among the teams that could have interest in the slugger, though all National League teams would have to let Ramirez through waivers for an American League team to have a shot at him.
Odds & Ends: Barajas, Piniella, Nats, Ramirez, Jackson
From the South Bay to the Valley, from the West Side to the East Side, everybody is very happy because Vin Scully will return in 2011. Let's check out some links from around the web..
- A member of the Mets watching Rod Barajas say goodbye to his teammates quipped "Can I go with him?", tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
- Ken Rosenthal pays tribute to Lou Piniella, and opines that Joe Girardi would be a perfect managerial replacement, though he has doubts that the Cubs could pry him away from New York.
- The Nationals have extended their affiliation with the Syracuse Chiefs for an additional two seasons, according to the team's official Twitter page.
- Josh Thole is excited about having the opportunity to start every day now that Rod Barajas has been claimed off waivers by the Dodgers, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.
- The Rays might be willing to take a chance on Manny Ramirez, writes Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
- With the way Austin Jackson is playing, it looks like the Tigers got the better end of the Curtis Granderson deal, writes Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger.
- Pittsburgh's signing of Mexican hurler Luis Heredia was years in the making, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer writes that the Indians weren't afraid to spend on the draft this year. Cleveland's top ten picks all signed for more than their recommended slot.
- Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated (via Twitter) jokes that Buck Showalter has done too well with the Orioles as the club might now lose out on the first overall pick in the draft. Baltimore is now 44-80 while the Pirates are 40-83.
Rosenthal On Uggla, Cubs, D’Backs, Ramirez
Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com has some hot stove items to share in his latest Full Count video…
- Contract negotiations between Dan Uggla and the Marlins are "not off to a great start." Rosenthal reports that the Marlins are offering a three-year contract but Uggla wants a five-year pact. We heard last week that the Marlins were offering a three-year, $30MM deal, but Rosenthal guesses that Uggla is looking for something in the range of $55-60MM over the desired five years.
- The Cubs' "number-one need" in the offseason is a left-handed power bat at either first base or right field, with Tyler Colvin available to play the other position.
- Starting pitching is also a need for the Cubs, as Rosenthal says the team wants to bring in at least one new starter "regardless of what they do with Carlos Zambrano." One option could be to bring back a recently-traded ace — Rosenthal says Chicago "still has a lot of interest in Ted Lilly."
- Arizona president and CEO Derrick Hall says "it would be crazy" to not interview other manager and general manager candidates despite the fact that he's happy with the work done by interim manager Kirk Gibson and interim GM Jerry Dipoto. Hall says he will start a GM search at the beginning of September, with Dipoto "at the top of [the] list." Rosenthal expects Kevin Towers, Dodgers assistant GM Logan White and Yankees vice-president Damon Oppenheimer to all draw interest from the Diamondbacks, though New York would have to grant Arizona permission to talk to Oppenheimer.
- Now that Manny Ramirez is off the disabled list, Rosenthal provided an update to his news from last week about the possibility of Ramirez on the waiver wire. The Dodgers will wait to put Ramirez on waivers since teams will want to make sure that he is both healthy and hitting well. Rosenthal repeats that the White Sox are the club "most likely" to put in a claim for Ramirez, since the Sox "don't like Brad Hawpe all that much" and they doubt that Detroit would trade them Johnny Damon.
Manny Plans To Play In 2011
Agent Scott Boras confirmed to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that Manny Ramirez is interested in playing next year. Manny will hit free agency after the season, but it doesn’t sound like he’s ready to retire.
“Manny wants to play,” Boras said.
Ramirez, who is about to begin a rehab assignment for the Dodgers, could be traded if and when he clears waivers. The Dodgers could not place Manny on waivers when he was injured, but Morosi reports that the team could place him on waivers before they activate him from the disabled list, as long as he is healthy.
Manny's $20MM salary would likely prevent any teams from claiming him, but some clubs would likely have interest if he clears waivers and proves his health. In 220 plate appearances, Ramirez has a .317/.409/.516 line this year, so the Dodgers could draw interest if they're willing to pick up salary. The Cubs acquired prospects for Derrek Lee, who cleared waivers, but they had to pick up salary to do so.
Odds & Ends: Scott, Valentine, Manny
Four years ago today, the Yankees released first baseman Carlos Pena. He signed a minor league deal with the Rays in January of '07 and went on to have a monster season. On to today's non-draft links…
- Luke Scott was claimed on waivers this month and pulled back, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Not a big surprise, but now we know Scott won't be traded in August.
- Ichiro Suzuki has talked to Mariners ownership about hiring Bobby Valentine to manage, tweets MLB Network's Peter Gammons. However, Larry Stone of the Seattle Times hears that Ichiro has not approached the Mariners about Valentine.
- The possibility of Manny Ramirez being claimed or traded is examined in columns by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and Buster Olney of ESPN.
- RotoAuthority explores whether Jordan Zimmermann is worth stashing in fantasy leagues.