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Manny Ramirez

Odds & Ends: Brewers, Pierre, Webb, Mariners

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Here's a few links on a gorgeous Saturday, at least around these parts…

  • Acquiring Carlos Gomez allows the Brewers to wave goodbye to Mike Cameron, and Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel says they'll use the savings on pitching. "We're going to have to take our resources that we gave to Mike and distribute them to fill other needs for our ballclub," said GM Doug Melvin. "We've said pitching is our focus. We still have other needs, like any club. And the salaries of our other players go up, too."
  • The return of Manny Ramirez allows the Dodgers to resume searching for a trade partner for Juan Pierre, according to Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times. Pierre still has two-years and $18.5MM remaining on his contract.  
  • In today's blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney says that Brandon Webb will be prime trade bait in the middle of next season if he makes it all the way back and the Diamondbacks aren't in contention.
  • Jason A. Churchill of Prospect Insider takes a look at some offseason options for the Mariners.
  • Meanwhile, former Mariner Kenji Johjima can provide some additional input on American pitchers the Hanshin Tigers may pursue, notes Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. Patrick also passes along a report that lists some pitchers Hanshin is looking at, including two Mariners: Ryan Rowland-Smith and Chris Jakubauskas. 
  • Rowland-Smith is on Twitter, and was a little surprised by the news.
  • Bob Dutton of The KC Star takes a look at the newest Royals, Chris Getz and Josh Fields.
  • Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball lists all 39 players who filed for free agency on Friday.

Manny Ramirez Will Return To Dodgers in 2010

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7:01pm: Hernandez has a quote from Boras:

"Obviously, he enjoys L.A.," Boras said. "If he went into the marketplace, the real negative was that he could end up playing in a place he wasn't comfortable playing."

6:19pm: Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times tweets that according to agent Scott Boras, Manny Ramirez will return to the Dodgers next year. Technically, Manny signed a two-year deal last offseason, but he has the ability to opt out of the 2010 portion of his contract within five days after the World Series. He would forfeit $20MM by doing so.

The 37-year-old Ramirez had a tale of two seasons in 2009. He hit .348/.492/.641 in the team's first 29 games, but "just" .269/.389/.492 after returning from a 50-game banned substance suspension. ESPN's Keith Law said that Manny showed the "the loss of bat speed" at the end of the season, and didn't think that any team should invest $20MM in him for 2010.

Manny Ramirez Rumor Shot Down

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2:21pm: Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times says (via Twitter) that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti shot down the rumor below.  By the way, Hernandez just joined Twitter, so get following!

12:16pm: From Bob Keisser of the Long Beach Press-Telegram (hat tip to Diamond Leung):

A baseball insider says the club has been contacted by an American League team that is interested in Manny Ramirez if the team will pay part of his $20 million salary for 2010.  It's a team that plays in a very mediocre division, has a few team officials familiar with Ramirez, and always needs a bump in notoriety.

MLBTR has not referenced a rumor from Keisser in its four-year history, but let's explore this one anyway.

SI's Jon Heyman wrote Wednesday that Manny "is planning to exercise" his $20MM player option.  Manny hit well in 2009, but a 50-game PED suspension marred his season. 

As for Keisser's clues, he appears to be referring to the AL Central.  Did the Twins, Tigers, White Sox, Indians, or Royals express interest in Manny?  Indians GM Mark Shapiro crossed paths with Ramirez.  The Tigers' David Chadd worked for the Red Sox when Manny was there.  Do any of the other teams have officials familiar with the slugger?  In general, do you buy this rumor?

Dodgers Notes: Manny, Schmidt, Offseason

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MLB.com's Ken Gurnick takes a look at what he figures to be an "exciting" offseason for the Dodgers. Let's go over the highlights:

  • No surprise that Gurnick lists Manny Ramirez as the biggest question mark heading into 2010. Manny's 37, and while many feel he's a lock to pick up his $20MM option for 2010, Gurnick cautions not to be too sure. As Gurnick points out, Manny is as unpredictable as they come, as is his agent, Scott Boras. Gurnick reminds us of 2006, when no one thought J.D. Drew would walk away from $33MM guaranteed, but he and Boras did just that, securing more years and more dollars with the Red Sox. Additionally, Manny's told his teammates that the pounding on his legs is getting to him, and that he ought to be a designated hitter.
  • The Dodgers are set to have up to $40MM come off the books this offseason, which should more than cover the arbitration raises due to Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, James Loney, Russell Martin, Chad Billingsley, Jonathan Broxton, George Sherrill, and Hong-Chih Kuo.
  • Jason Schmidt accounts for $15.5MM of that $40MM sum. Gurnick says that Schmidt is "expected to retire."
  • The Dodgers did extremely well signing Orlando Hudson and Randy Wolf to one-year deals last offseason, but now find themselves right back where they started, writes Gurnick, with second base and starting pitching as the biggest needs.
  • Gurnick lists outfielder Jason Repko as a non-tender candidate.
  • Rather than give the second base job to Blake DeWitt, Gurnick feels that an acquisition for second base is "almost a certainty."

Heyman On Manny, Felix, Bay, Washburn

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The latest hot stove notes from SI's Jon Heyman…

  • Manny Ramirez "is planning to exercise" his $20MM player option for 2010.  This was expected but it'd still be interesting to see Manny jump back into free agency, maybe seek two years and $30MM.
  • Heyman echoes what we've read regarding Brandon Webb – the D'Backs will pick up his $8.5MM option for next year, as Webb is not interested in renegotiating.  On a related note, MLB.com's Steve Gilbert looks at some options for the two open spots in Arizona's rotation.
  • The Red Sox "would still love to make a run at Felix Hernandez."  Who wouldn't?  I don't expect Felix trade talks to become reality unless the Mariners try and fail to sign him to an extension first.  Heyman considers Roy Halladay more realistic for the Sox; Doc's price would presumably be slightly lower with the '09 season concluded.  According to Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail, Halladay, his wife, and his agent had dinner with Jays president and CEO Paul Beeston last week to discuss the future.
  • The Red Sox "were thought to have offered" $15MM to left fielder Jason Bay.  How many years?
  • Heyman says the Mariners and Brewers "are expected to be in the mix" for free agent lefty Jarrod Washburn.  Scott Boras surely knows a move to the NL would help Washburn, who was born in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

Odds & Ends: McCourt, Manny, Duncan, Blue Jays

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A few links to check out between ALCS pitches…

  • Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that Dodgers' owner Frank McCourt has fired his wife, Jamie, as CEO of the team. The McCourts are famously going through what will likely be a messy divorce, and Jamie's lawyers maintain that "she owns 50 percent of the team."
  • Diamond Leung tweets that the Dodgers and GM Ned Colletti are planning on having Manny Ramirez around next year. Manny has a $20MM player option that he has until shortly after the World Series to exercise.
  • Now that they've brought in hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, Mark Potash of The Chicago Sun Times wants to see the Cubs go after pitching coach Dave Duncan. Duncan has said he's going to wait and see what Tony LaRussa does before deciding on his coaching future.
  • ESPN's Keith Law, former special assistant to the GM in Toronto, mentioned a few interesting Blue Jays' non-trades in his chat today. He says that the Mets once offered 19-year-old David Wright for Jose Cruz Jr., but J.P. Ricciardi said "I'm not trading a major league player for some guy in the (Low Class-A) Sally League." Klaw also mentions that the Jays had a chance to trade Cruz Jr. for Rafael Soriano, but wouldn't do it unless the Mariners kicked in Clint Nageotte as well. What could have been, Jays fans.

Odds & Ends: Mariners, Beltre, Ramirez

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Happy birthday to Hall-of-Famer Whitey Ford and (future Hall-of-Famer?) Zack Greinke.  MLBTR's gift to these two star pitchers is this batch of news items…

  • John Hickey of the Seattle PostGlobe outlines some of the holes that the Mariners have to fill for 2010, and speculates that free agent and Los Angeles resident Adrian Beltre might be targeted by the Angels and Dodgers.
  • Peter Gammons thinks that if it weren't for Manny Ramirez's player option, the Dodgers would part ways with the controversial left fielder, reports WEEI's Alex Speier.
  • MLB.com's Steve Gilbert writes that if Conor Jackson can stay healthy in the Dominican Winter League, he can avoid being non-tendered by the Diamondbacks.
  • Joe Mauer's big brother Jake has been named the new manager of the Twins' Class A-Advanced affiliate in Fort Myers, reports Benjamin Hill of MLB.com.
  • Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner discussed Jim Riggleman's chances of being named manager, some recent front office hires and his club's overall plans for the future in a chat with Bill Ladson of MLB.com.

Gammons’ Latest: Iglesias, Magglio, Valentine

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In his latest blog post at ESPN, Peter Gammons writes that the NL West has quietly become very competitive thanks to three California pitcher's parks that make it such a pitching dominated division. Through the help of scouts and team executives, he points out all the great young talent in the division, highlighted by the likes of Ubaldo Jimenez, Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Pablo Sandoval, Troy Tulowitzki, and Mark Reynolds.

Here's a roundup of Gammons' rumors…

  • Gammons jokes that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti "could be arrested for shoplifting," because in the last two seasons he's acquired Manny Ramirez, Casey Blake, George Sherrill, Jon Garland, Jim Thome, Doug Mientkiewicz, Ronnie Belliard, and Vicente Padilla while paying them approximately $2.7MM combined.
  • The Red Sox will get their first look at Cuban shortstop Jose Iglesias, who they signed for $8.5MM back in July, in the Arizona Fall League. Gammons spoke to an NL GM who said he would have given Iglesias $12MM if his team could afford it, because "Our scouts say he's the best defensive shortstop they've ever seen."
  • If you're interested, you can see the full Arizona Fall League rosters here.
  • Jim Leyland was never told anything about benching Magglio Ordonez so his $18MM option in 2010 wouldn't vest. "He's going to make it," Leyland says. "So anyone who said otherwise has egg on his face. Dave Dombrowski has never even mentioned the vesting option." Ordonez needs just 35 more plate appearances this season to lock in the option.
  • Bobby Valentine's name was mentioned by Nationals' ownership during every interview they hosted while searching for a permanent GM, so he might be in the mix for their managerial job.

Odds And Ends: Manny, Marlins, Wagner

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Some links to start the week off…

  • Manny Ramirez, who has a $20MM player option for next year, shouted "I'm going to be here next year" to his Dodgers teammates, according to T.J. Simers of the LA Times. You never know with Manny, but it's hard to imagine someone offering him a better deal.
  • If you've ever wondered about some of the more lucrative performance incentives around baseball, check out Jorge Says No!.
  • The Marlins have a tiny payroll, but call them a surprise and Larry Beinfest starts to bristle, says Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
  • Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says the feeling is the Red Sox will send a marginal player to the Mets for Billy Wagner if they can work out a deal with the former closer and his agent.

Odds & Ends: Padilla, Riggleman, Cabrera, Twins

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Some links to wrap up your Thursday night…

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