Manny Ramirez Rumors: Saturday
According to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, the Giants are still talking to Manny Ramirez. Giants president Larry Baer said "we’ve got interest. But it’s one of those things where it’s got to fit."
Some executives say the Giants want to prevent the Dodgers from getting Manny on a one year deal, but aren’t about to start a bidding war. If they end up with a Hall of Fame player for a year because of it, they’d be happy.
As one executive said, few teams have enough money remaining to sign Ramirez, so the Dodgers could conceivably offer $30MM over two years and still make the highest bid.
Odds and Ends: Boras, Manny, Heilman
Links for Friday…
- ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick examines Scott Boras’ work so far this winter, as well as his remaining clients.
- RotoAuthority has first baseman rankings for fantasy leagues.
- Matthew Cerrone suggests the Mets might want to publicly rule out Manny Ramirez.
- Interesting WHIFF profile on Aaron Heilman.
- Patrick Newman introduces us to Norichika Aoki, perhaps the best hitter in Japan. Aoki may end up in MLB, but it probably won’t be anytime soon.
- The Orioles agreed to a split contract with pitcher Brian Burres, says Troy Renck.
Free Agent Quota: 8 Type A/Bs
12:30pm: In an email, Bloom told me it is a combination of eight Type A and Bs (not eight of each) and whether or not the team offered arbitration has nothing to do with the quota.
11:37am: Bloom says that a unilateral exception was granted this offseason allowing any team to sign as many as eight Type A or B free agents. A total of 216 free agents filed, an exceptionally high number. Another note: Bloom learned from Manfred that while draft pick compensation would be eliminated if the player waits until after the June draft to sign, it has yet to occur.
10:44am: Brian Cashman told Peter Abraham the Yankees could sign up to eight Type A free agents if they wanted to. Cashman’s exact quote shows less certainty:
"I’m not sure of the exact number, but it’s one we won’t worry about either way."
10:05am: One reader asks a question I can’t answer: if the quota is three Type A/Bs, how were the Giants able to sign Jeremy Affeldt (B), Bob Howry (A), Randy Johnson (B), Edgar Renteria (A), and Juan Uribe (B)? Does it only apply to Type A/Bs who were offered arbitration? Is the quota three of each type?
7:45am: Just wanted to add the info from a January 6th Nick Cafardo article, where he stated that this year’s quota is nine Type A or B free agents. Everyone I’d spoken previously to believed the Yankees have not approached any quota. I know the CBA allows for more Type A/Bs to be signed if you lose them, and the Yankees lost Bobby Abreu and Mike Mussina. We attempted to tackle this in October and came away confused.
Still, Bloom talked to MLB’s executive VP of labor relations Rob Manfred for his article and it seems highly unlikely that Manfred would be wrong. – Tim Dierkes
1:28am: Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com is reporting that the New York Yankees cannot sign any more Type A or Type B free agents this offseason.
According to the Basic Agreement, and confirmed by a top Major League Baseball official, once the Yankees signed C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira, they had signed their quota of Type A or Type B free agents under the collectively bargained rules established by management and the Players Association, Bloom wrote.
All three were Type A free agents who played for other teams last season aside from the Yankees. The Yankees could re-sign their own Type A or Type B free agents without it affecting the quota.
Under the rules, "if there are from 39 to 62 [Type A and B] players [during a given offseason], no team can sign more than three."
Re-signing Type A pitchers Andy Pettitte and Damaso Marte did not affect the Yankees’ limit.
Offseason speculation has put the Yankees on the peripheral of interest for outfielder Manny Ramirez and pitcher Ben Sheets. This finding curbs those chances.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Thursday
According to the AP, Albert Pujols said he can’t understand how his friend Manny Ramirez is not signed yet. Pujols gave Manny’s phone number to Tony La Russa and wondered if he’d give the Cardinals a discount.
When asked by Bill Shaikin if the Cardinals are interested in Ramirez, GM John Mozeliak said, "The answer is no."
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.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Wednesday
11:39pm: Dylan Hernandez and Ken Gurnick talked to Ned Colletti tonight about Manny, but there’s not much new to report.
3:50pm: Not sure where the rumor started, but you can cross the Cardinals off the list for Manny suitors.
8:39am: Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times talked to Scott Boras, who anticipates that his client Manny Ramirez will be signed by Spring Training (February 14th). Boras claims the Manny negotiations are taking shape and progressing and "the train has left the station." Of course, we all recall Kevin Towers saying the same thing about a Jake Peavy trade.
Boras acknowledged that he’s still talking with the Dodgers and (of course) implied that he has more than one additional suitor.
In other Manny news, Mets manager Jerry Manuel said he’d like to add the slugger (despite the team’s lack of interest).
Odds And Ends: Heilman, Pedro, Twins
A few more links for Wednesday…
- Ryan Howard said a long-term deal with the Phillies would be "beautiful," for what it’s worth.
- The New York Times’ Ben Shpigel comments on the Aaron Heilman deal and its effect on new teammate Jeff Samardzija.
- Marty Noble of MLB.com learned that Mets GM Omar Minaya met with Pedro Martinez in the Dominican Republic today, but did not make an offer (and re-signing him remains a long shot).
- Yahoo’s Tim Brown has the roundup on the Twins’ hot stove happenings.
- Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog.com takes on the Manny Ramirez-to-Mets conspiracy theorists.
Rosenthal On Manny, Garcia, Greinke
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new column…
- Rosenthal speculates that the Giants may not be the right fit for Manny Ramirez, given a challenging ballpark and questionable supporting cast of hitters. Rosenthal suggests a contract that might work for Manny and the Dodgers: two years with a third-year player option, with no-trade protection covering only the first two years.
- Many remaining free agents – Adam Dunn for example – may prefer a one-year deal because it will increase their options and allow them to re-enter the market after the season.
- The White Sox found the price for Freddy Garcia to be too high ($1.5MM plus $6.5MM in incentives). Rosenthal deems Oliver Perez a bad fit for the Sox in part because he’s a flyball pitcher. Also there’s the whole Scott Boras thing.
- Among the right-handed hitters the Phillies are mulling, Rosenthal feels that Nomar Garciaparra and Rich Aurilia make the most sense.
- The Angels may go to Spring Training with their current club.
- Zack Greinke received "very minor" no-trade protection in the first two years of his new deal, with seemingly no protection when his salary shoots up to $13.5MM in 2011.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Monday
9:46pm: Chris Haft of MLB.com wonders if Manny Ramirez would be given as many opportunities to hit the ball if he signed with the Giants, similar to how Barry Bonds was intentionally walked so often.
4:30pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says Manny still wants a four or five-year deal at about $25MM per. On rival exec believes the Dodgers and Manny are in the "fourth inning" of negotiations.
10:17am: The latest Manny Ramirez information came from Bill Shaikin on Saturday, and there’s not much to report. It seems that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti awaits a counteroffer from Scott Boras after their two-year, $45MM offer was made almost three months ago. Boras wants the Dodgers to up their bid:
"We have let the Dodgers know what Manny’s position is. They are fully aware of the terms he feels are fair."
Shaikin says the Dodgers "do not equate an asking price with a counteroffer." He adds, "The Dodgers do not believe the San Francisco Giants are serious about Ramirez. The Giants are happy to let the Dodgers think that way."
I have to side with Colletti on this one. His offer was initially laughed off, but now it looks quite fair. Manny doesn’t appear to have any other offers, and there are other quality free agent corner outfielders available who will likely play for one year and less than half the average annual salary.
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.