Manny Looking For Five Years, $85 Million?
From Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News:
Agent Scott Boras has let it be known through his media outlets that the expectation is for at least five years and $85 million in a deal for Manny Ramirez.
Back on deadline day, Peter Gammons suggested Manny was seeking four years and $100MM. So it seems that Ramirez’s contract may be $17-25MM annually for four or five years (he will be 37 in May). Personally I think he’s more likely to get offers in the three year/$65MM range, though one team will bite the bullet and do four years. Your thoughts?
Ringolsby goes on to say that the Dodgers don’t see Manny as a long-term fit given the five-year demand.
Odds and Ends: Lowe, Redmond, Timlin
Linkage for Friday…
- River Ave. Blues discovered that Mike Mussina‘s wife may be a bigger factor than we thought in regard to his retirement decision.
- David O’Brien tosses out some names for the Braves to consider: Derek Lowe, Matt Cain, Roy Oswalt, and Josh Willingham. Everyone likes Lowe…Anthony McCarron says the Yankees and Mets should consider him. Those clubs could also enter a bidding war for C.C. Sabathia, says Bob Klapisch. Will C.C.’s postseason record diminish his contract? I don’t think so.
- Greg Couch doesn’t want Javier Vazquez pitching for the White Sox again. Maybe Ozzie is right, Vazquez is not a big-game pitcher. But why say that publicly?
- Joe Christensen seems certain the Twins will exercise Mike Redmond‘s $950K option.
- Chris Carpenter‘s shoulder injury is unprecedented among pitchers. Do the Cardinals need to add veteran rotation insurance? Speaking of unprecedented procedures…Takashi Saito had platelet-rich plasma injected into his elbow in July.
- Joe Starkey thinks the Pirates should…non-tender Adam LaRoche?
- Mike Timlin could retire.
- Huge E-Ticket Manny Ramirez feature from Bill Simmons, wherein Scott Boras is blamed for his Boston exit. Good read.
Possible Manny Destinations
Manny Ramirez ranked fourth in all of baseball with a .430 OBP, and second with a .601 SLG. This makes him a very attractive free agent, and he won’t require the massive term of a Mark Teixeira. However it’s possible questions about Ramirez’s Boston departure will limit suitors.
Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire tried to determine possible destinations for Manny next year, talking to an MLB manager, a leading agent, and a national baseball writer. The results of this survey:
- All three mentioned the Mets. On Monday, SI.com’s Jon Heyman wrote the Mets appear "disinclined" to go after Ramirez. Yesterday, however, Heyman said on WFAN that Manny was a "real option" and the Mets are "thinking about it."
- The agent named the Giants and Phillies as other possibilities. The Phils had interest in Manny this summer, but didn’t make the best offer. They could give Pat Burrell‘s money to Ramirez, but it could cost an additional $10MM. Meanwhile Giants GM Brian Sabean says Fred Lewis is his left fielder.
- The agent and the writer both expect the Dodgers to make a play to re-sign Ramirez. GM Ned Colletti says he’ll give it a shot, but will the Dodgers pay top dollar? Question for commenters – can you think of any other reasonable destinations for Ramirez?
Heyman’s Latest: Manny, K-Rod, Cashman
Lets discuss the latest column from SI.com’s Jon Heyman.
- The Mets are "disinclined" to go after Manny Ramirez or break up the Jose Reyes–David Wright–Carlos Beltran core.
- Heyman, like Ken Davidoff, feels the Mets can’t afford to sit out the Francisco Rodriguez sweepstakes. If not him, then at least Brian Fuentes.
- Heyman says Brian Cashman "appears likely" to return as Yankees GM. He notes that Cashman wouldn’t have ended up in Seattle anyway because of the return of Mariners chairman Howard Lincoln.
Odds and Ends: Manny, Laird, Strasburg, Chipper
Let’s gather up today’s linkage.
- Andy Pettitte will probably pitch next year, but Mike Mussina remains an unknown.
- Reader Peter H. reminds us that the Brewers’ playoff berth means the Indians get to choose the player to be named later in the C.C. Sabathia deal.
- Ross Newhan finds it indisputable that the Dodgers and Angels have to re-sign Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeira at any cost. Manny generated an estimated $7.6MM in extra revenue for the Dodgers. T.J. Simers snagged all kinds of quotes from Manny in recent articles, including one about Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick dissing Manny in front of his teammates prior to the shoving incident.
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News names some possible fits for Gerald Laird this winter – the Tigers, Brewers, Reds, and Red Sox.
- The Nationals will pick first in the 2009 draft. Will they go for Stephen Strasburg?
- Kerry Wood felt bad about his three-year, $32.5MM deal, and basically signed a blank check after the ’07 season.
- Ron Villone would like to return to the Cardinals rather than attempt to tie Mike Morgan‘s record of playing for 12 different teams.
- Leo Mazzone or Rick Peterson for next Tigers pitching coach?
- Athletics Nation puts together a plan to compete in ’09 without sacrificing the future.
- Chipper Jones wants to retire a Brave. But if he doesn’t sign an extension beyond ’09 and the Braves want to trade him next summer, he’s got a short list of teams to which he’d accept a trade.
Odds and Ends: Patterson, Lowry, Alvarez
Today’s linkage…
- Brewers fans, act quickly to snag free tickets to tonight’s game courtesy of Eric Gagne. Nice gesture.
- Of course Ned Colletti wants to re-sign Manny Ramirez. It’s just a question of dollars and years. Does Manny get the rumored 4/100 he might desire?
- The Jays locked manager Cito Gaston up through 2010.
- Richard Griffin says the Blue Jays will be better for it if they lose A.J. Burnett. Meanwhile, River Ave. Blues is open to the idea of the Yankees signing him.
- No, Corey Patterson is not dating Dusty Baker’s daughter. And Baker says he wasn’t behind the signing, either.
- The Reds might not be in the market for a catcher this winter, if they go with Ryan Hanigan as the starter in ’09.
- The Mariners officially founded the 100/100 club.
- Peter Abraham sees the Yankees going with Brett Gardner as the center fielder in 2009. Peter Gammons is "convinced he is going to be an everyday center fielder."
- Sam Mellinger discusses a way to drastically shake up the Royals: trade both Zack Greinke and Joakim Soria for loads of young, cheap players. As he notes, the strategy could work out but might cause a fan revolt.
- Andrew Baggarly wonders if Noah Lowry‘s injury problems could prevent a Matt Cain trade. Also, Baggarly sees a non-tender in Kevin Correia‘s future.
- Frank Coonelly suggested Pedro Alvarez‘s new deal is comparable in value to the original. Scott Boras then jumped on the conference call to say it was a favorable change, and much different from the original. Additionally, Coonelly contacted Baseball America’s Jim Callis to dispute the idea of a premeditated plan to negotiate with Alvarez after the deadline.
- The Marlins will focus on improving their defense this winter.
Week in Review: 9/14 – 9/20
Another week down here at MLBTR, here’s your review!
- The Brewers fired manager Ned Yost on Monday. Yost has taken a lot of criticism, and while I personally don’t feel like it’s a bad move, it seems like an odd time to disrupt the clubhouse, given that the Brewers are right in the wild card race. Perhaps this was intended to spark the Brewers and act as a wakeup call, but they have just two wins since the move.
- In an attempt to cut payroll, the Tigers may have to move Magglio Ordonez this offseason. Ordonez will make $18MM next year and has options for 2010 and 2011. Anyone else think the Reds should make a serious run at Maggs? A lineup filled with Jay Bruce, Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto, Edwin Encarnacion, and Ordonez could be extremely potent, to go along with a rotation anchored by Edinson Volquez, Aaron Harang, and Johnny Cueto.
- Despite their bullpen woes, the Mets are not likely to make a run at either Francisco Rodriguez, or Brian Fuentes either. The Mets’ internal options have been bad, but K-Rod is in for a record-setting deal, and aside from the sheer number of saves, I don’t feel that his numbers stand out to the point where the team that lands him is going to get the full value of that contract. Personally, I think passing is a good decision.
- Are the Royals currently interested in making a move for Braves’ right fielder Jeff Francoeur? The Royals have very few guys with solid OBPs, and adding Francoeur to the everyday lineup doesn’t seem like the route to go. Still, he has a long-standing relationship with Royals GM Dayton Moore, so it could be a valid possibility. The Royals have said they are willing to part with anyone aside from Zack Greinke, Gil Meche, and Joakim Soria.
- The Red Sox and Theo Epstein have agreed to a contract extension.
- Things to think about for in the offseason: Kevin Gregg expects to be traded, Matt Cain wants to stay in San Francisco, Milton Bradley wants a long-term deal and feels he has a 50-50 chance at returning to the Rangers. In the meantime, likely non-tender candidates include both Josh Bard and Erik Bedard.
- Tim updated the Offseason Outlook series with entries for the Athletics, Braves, and Tigers. He also took a look at the Third Base Market, led by Casey Blake.
- And for anyone curious about Manny Ramirez’s end in Boston, here’s Curt Schilling’s take on the situation.
Odds and Ends: Cashman, Roberts, Lowe
Rounding up links for Thursday…
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday notes which player moves were entirely Brian Cashman’s, and which came from above.
- Buster Olney wonders if Doug Melvin could replace Cashman as the Yankees’ GM. Olney stresses that it’s pure speculation on his part.
- Viva El Birdos asks what it would take for the Cardinals to acquire Brian Roberts.
- John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press says the Tigers should sign Derek Lowe this winter. Will Lowe get a four year deal?
- Bud Selig tells Ken Rosenthal the Manny Ramirez trade was completed before the deadline. Jerry Crasnick says the Dodgers have not talked to Ramirez about an extension.
- Rays Index explains why the team should not trade Scott Kazmir.
Schilling Blasts Manny
Pitcher Curt Schilling sounded off on former teammate Manny Ramirez yesterday on WEEI. His comments can be found here and here. Schilling says management ultimately took a players’ vote, and they elected to have Manny traded. The public is aware of just 10-20% of Ramirez’s antics, according to Schilling.
Meanwhile, Joe Posnanski takes a look at the genius of Manny in a column at SI.com.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Rasmus, Tazawa, Manny
Let’s take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Cardinals Diaspora reads between the lines and feels the Cards will shop their top prospect, Colby Rasmus, this winter.
- The Detroit Tigers Weblog would like to see the Tigers go after Japanese amateur pitcher Junichi Tazawa.
- East Windup Chronicle looks at the Japanese free agent crop.
- River Ave. Blues thinks the Yankees and Manny Ramirez would be a "perfect fit" despite those that say it won’t happen.
- Drunk Jays Fans thinks the Mets should inquire with the Jays about the availability of B.J. Ryan.
- Rays Index takes a look at the Rays’ ’09 roster and sees too many starting pitchers and not enough chairs, which could lead to one or two being traded this off-season.
- McCovey Chronicles projects the Giants’ ’09 roster and sees all positions spoken for except possibly third base, but still wonders if Brian Sabean will feel the need to sign an impact free agent.
- Lone Star Ball takes a look at the Rangers’ ’09 40-man roster.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.