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Manny Ramirez

Rangers Rumors: Manny, Sheets, Gagne, Young

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SI.com’s Jon Heyman checks in with a post on the Rangers; most of the info came up during his recent MLB Network appearance.

  • Heyman says the Rangers "are considering a pursuit" of Manny Ramirez, noting that Jon Daniels isn’t currently pursuing him but didn’t rule it out.  Heyman still considers the Dodgers and Giants the top suitors.  El Lefty Malo doesn’t seem him landing with San Francisco.
  • The Rangers maintain interest in Ben Sheets and are also considering bringing Eric Gagne back.  T.R. Sullivan also mentions Tim Redding, Chad Cordero, Jason Isringhausen, and Eddie Guardado.
  • The Rangers have received inquiries on Vicente Padilla (Braves) and Michael Young.  Young has been loosely linked to the Twins, Mets, Angels, Dodgers, and Royals.  Sullivan names Hank Blalock and Kevin Millwood as other trade candidates.

Rangers Not Pursuing Manny Ramirez

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MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan spoke to Rangers GM Jon Daniels, who said:

"We’ve looked at some right handed options for the lineup but we’re not pursuing Manny [Ramirez] at this time."

Chatter was sparked earlier today by a recent Jon Heyman appearance on the MLB Network where he said the Rangers have interest in Manny.  But there’s nothing on Heyman’s blog on the topic currently.  Tim Brown, sizing up the market for Ramirez, talked to a Rangers source who said they’re "unlikely" to sign him.

Perrotto’s Latest: Ramirez, Lowe

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Every Sunday we read John Perrotto’s Every Given Sunday:

  • The Giants may be considering two offers for Manny Ramirez. One for two years "with vesting and club options that could make it a four-year, $100MM contract." The other for 3 years, $63MM, with no options.
  • Derek Lowe has not given up on a five-year, $80MM offer, although that remains doubtful.
  • Barry Bonds had hip surgery and wants to return in 2009. Some still speculate he will pursue collusion charges.
  • Tony La Russa is considering using Chris Carpenter as a closer.

Manny Ramirez Rumors: Saturday

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10:11pm: Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the Giants want to wait until the corner outfield market is "more precisely defined" before pursuing Manny. He adds that the Giants are unlikely to enter a bidding war so they need more financial flexibility than usual from Boras.

10:45am: Buster Olney adds that rival executives have "major doubts" about the Giants’ willingness to spend enough to sign Manny, especially in the midst of a recession. Olney points out that trading Randy Winn or Aaron Rowand to clear payroll would likely yield very little in the current market.

9:13am: Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle carefully summarizes the Giants’ interest in Manny Ramirez to kick off the day’s Manny rumors.

Schulman reminds us that the Giants have talked with Scott Boras about Manny and writes that this is "not another case of Boras just trying to drum up another suitor."

That said, their interest is far from "an all-out assault on Ramirez in a bid to get him." They’re simply intrigued.

Like any team at this point in the year, the Giants are apparently considering other free agents and "trying to make trades." In other words, they’re interested, but they have other options.

Dodgers Rework Andruw Jones Deal

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SATURDAY, 11:23am: Buster Olney’s sources tell him that Jones will receive the $15MM he’s owed in 2009 over the next six seasons, without interest. Apparently the Dodgers are likely to call the Braves, Reds and Mets about potential trades. One source familiar with the discussions said it’s virtually certain that the Mets won’t be interested.

11:55pm: Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times says the deal cuts Jones’ 2009 salary to about $5MM.  The Dodgers agreed to trade or release him; interested teams may prefer to wait for the latter.  Shaikin says the Jones restructuring is independent of the Manny Ramirez situation.

7:51pm: Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports that the Major League Players Association has approved the contract agreement, which will defer Jones’ remaining salary.  According to an industry source, Jones will either be traded or released before the start of spring training and perhaps sometime this month.

FRIDAY, 2:38pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Dodgers and Jones have agreed to rework his contract to save the team $12MM in ’09.  Jones is likely to play for another team in the coming season.

THURSDAY, 9:55pm: As pointed out in the comments section below, Andruw’s ’09 salary could be deferred across several years and would thus gain interest, resulting in a higher total payout.  That could work for both sides.  A blog called Fantasy Sports Experience recalls a similar situation with the Mets and Bobby Bonilla in 2000.

9:40pm: Ken Gurnick of MLB.com has confirmed that Jones’ contract is being reworked.  It could be an extension or a deferred buyout. 

9:00pm: I just spoke with Simers, who tells me that the Dodgers "would do the deal with Scott Boras."  Jones’ 2009 salary "would be reduced to make him attractive" to possible suitors in a trade.  And the agreement would essentially free up money on the Dodgers’ side that would head directly towards Ramirez, another Boras client.  But it’s still unclear why Jones would want to take the paycut.  Is Boras going to pay the man out of his own pocket?  This kind of dealing is unheard of in the sports world, but you can never doubt the almighty Scott Boras.

8:38pm: T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times has heard that the Dodgers are working on a deal to unload outfielder Andruw Jones.

Simers claims that the deal would save the team $12MM and "send the guy, who couldn’t hit a thing, seeking employment elsewhere."  Jones is in the final year of a two-year contract and is set to make around $15MM in ’09.  He’s not just going to forfeit that money, so it’s not exactly clear what kind of a "deal" the article is speaking of.  A trade?  Buyouts don’t typically happen in baseball.  Nonetheless, Simers is onto something and it appears the Dodgers are readying the cash to make an offer to Manny Ramirez.

Manny Ramirez Rumors: Friday

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11:00pm: Schulman says the Giants have had conversations with Boras about Manny, but have not extended a formal offer.  Nothing is imminent, and the Giants are considering other options via trade and free agency.

3:33pm: The Chronicle’s Henry Schulman doesn’t have anything new on the KPIX report yet.  But he’s heard that the Dodgers offered Manny $60MM over three years at some point and were turned down.

2:40pm: MLB.com’s Chris Haft splashes some cold water on the KPIX-TV rumor.  His sources say recent reports linking the Giants to Manny are overblown.  The Dodgers may be the only truly interested team currently.  Haft says the Giants are looking to add a corner infield bat instead (they’ve been linked to Edwin Encarnacion and Jorge Cantu in the past, among others).

1:30pm:  SI.com’s Jon Heyman was able to confirm that the Giants entered the bidding for Manny.  He says the Dodgers remain interested, and that "some baseball people" aren’t writing off the Angels despite Tony Reagins’ public statement.  Heyman adds that one or two other AL teams are on the periphery, the Yankees not among them.

6:05am: There’s a rumor making the rounds from Dennis O’Donnell of KPIX-TV of San Francisco.  O’Donnell says the Giants have offered Manny Ramirez a four-year deal.  Reasons to treat the report with skepticism:

  • O’Donnell says it’s a fourth-year club option, so it was inaccurate to call it a four-year offer.
  • We haven’t heard anything about this from the Giants beat writers or national reporters, who have a better track record than television stations.  Henry Schulman covers the Giants for the San Francisco Chronicle, and he says the team "could consider Ramirez under very specific financial conditions."  He was probably not referring to a three or four-year offer.
  • O’Donnell was told by a team spokeman, "It’s not happening."  Scott Boras’ publicist "had no knowledge of any negotiations with the Giants," according to O’Donnell.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Jays, Mets, Red Sox, Nats, Yankees

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On this date 32 years ago, commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspended Braves owner Ted Turner for one year for tampering. Turner had announced publicly that the Braves would sign free agent-to-be Gary Matthews. Unfortunately, 30 years later, nobody was disciplined when the Angels signed free agent Gary Matthews Jr. to a $50MM contract. In the first two years of the deal, Matthews has been paid $15MM and his play has been worth -$600K (yes, that is negative) according to Fangraphs. With several big free agents still looking for new teams, will any of them be the next Matthews Jr? Only time will tell. In the meantime, let’s see what is being written in the Blogosphere…

  • The Eddie Kranepool Society is not worried about Derek Lowe, feeling the deal will get done once the Mets add a fourth option year and sweeten the pot just a tad. They are also putting the Mets front office on notice about the possibility of letting Manny Ramirez slip through their fingers.
  • Mets Geek feels the Mets still need to add one more piece to their revamped bullpen and suggest Wil Ohman or Joe Beimel are better options as a lefty specialist than what is already in-house.
  • The Southpaw takes a look at some young players the Jays should try to target in the trade market, with Chin-Lung Hu at the top of the list.
  • My Baseball Bias is not satisfied with just Mark Teixeira and wants to see the Yankees sign Manny Ramirez.
  • Fire Brand of the American League makes a case for three players to be the Red Sox fourth outfielder, including Rocco Baldelli, Brad Wilkerson and Eric Byrnes.
  • MLB Notebook takes a look at how the Nationals could spend the $20MM that would have gone to Mark Teixeira.
  • River Ave. Blues says this offseason is proving to be a test of just how good Scott Boras can be.
  • Sully Baseball is running a series of posts breaking down each team’s all-time home grown versus all-time acquired teams. Here he looks at the Astros.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Sherman’s Latest: Red Sox, Lowe, Manny

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Joel Sherman of the New York Post has a new blog post up.

  • The Red Sox would like to trade for a young star player; they’ve already attempted to acquire Mark Teixeira and Hanley Ramirez this offseason.  The Sox seem willing to discuss some very talented young players of their own (Clay Buchholz seems a bit more available).  Sherman speculates on all kinds of names that could make sense for Boston.
  • Derek Lowe is not keen on taking less money and the same salary as Carlos Silva.  He and Scott Boras will take some time to see if someone can beat the Mets’ three-year, $36MM offer.  Ken Rosenthal wrote in November that most executives consider the Silva contract an aberration.
  • Sherman finds many reasons Manny Ramirez could make sense for the Giants.  He notes that Giants special assistant J.T. Snow can give the team the inside scoop on what it was like to be teammates with Manny.
  • The Cubs would’ve liked to send Jason Marquis home to New York (the Mets), but the Mets are addressing their needs one at a time and aren’t looking at the fifth starter role yet.  Sherman says the Rockies have long been fans of Marquis and like his bat.  He could accumulate 80 plate appearances, I suppose.

Giants Aggressively Pursuing Manny?

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10:28pm: Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle is skeptical about this rumor.  His bottom line: "At some point the Giants could consider Ramirez under very specific financial conditions. However, their concessionaires should not order a large stock of dreadlock wigs for the souvenir stands just yet."

Jon Heyman has a new blog post on the topic; he says the Giants "could become the biggest threat to the Dodgers’ hopes to retain Manny."

11:33am: According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post:

The Giants, the NL West’s most active team this winter, are quietly making an aggressive play for free agent Manny Ramirez, according to a major-league source.

The Giants have been linked to Manny for months now; they apparently spoke with Scott Boras about him in November.  It’s interesting to see the Giants being aggressive while so many other teams are standing pat.  Would Manny put them over the top?  I imagine Brian Sabean would like to move Dave Roberts, Randy Winn, or Aaron Rowand to clear roster and payroll space.

Boras And Dodgers: Ready To Talk

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According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, the Dodgers and agent Scott Boras are finally gearing up for Manny Ramirez negotiations.

As was reported yesterday, Boras left a voicemail for Dodgers GM Ned Colletti on Tuesday.  Well, Colletti shot him back a voicemail Wednesday morning and the two are expected to finish their game of phone tag after the New Year’s holiday.  The Dodgers, of course, made a two-year, $45 million offer with an option for a third during the Winter Meetings in November.

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