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Manny Ramirez

Perrotto’s Latest: Waivers, Extensions, Garcia, Braves

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John Perrotto over at Baseball Prospectus has his Every Given Sunday column up:

  • Perrotto lists off several people which he believes are the most likely to be made available if and when they clear waivers. While the list is comprised of a lot of the usual suspects this August (Greg Maddux, Jarrod Washburn, Paul Byrd, Randy Winn), Perrotto lists some other names that we haven’t seen as much: Francisco Cordero, Tyler Walker, Todd Jones, Jose Bautista, and Doug Mientkiewicz. Perrotto also says that he feels Aubrey Huff has the best chance to be traded of any impact bat available.
  • Perrotto states that the Rockies would like to sign both Garrett Atkins and Matt Holliday long-term. If unsuccessful, they will both be on the trading block this offseason.
  • The Pirates would like to sign Nate McLouth and Ryan Doumit long-term as well, buying out their arbitration years.
  • Perrotto lists the Yankees as the front-runners to sign Freddy Garcia. The Mets and Rays are also suitors for Garcia, though I personally don’t think Garcia makes sense for the Rays.
  • The Yankees have "little interest" in pursuing Manny Ramirez this offseason, despite possible reports that Manny would like to play for them.
  • The Twins would still like to add a late-inning reliever this season to boost their bullpen as the AL Central race winds down.
  • The Braves’ top priority this offseason is pursuing a front-line starter, Perrotto says. He lists possible candidates as: C.C. Sabathia, Ben Sheets, Ryan Dempster, Derek Lowe, and Jon Garland. Seems a bit odd to consider the last three "front-line," though Dempster has certainly been impressive this season.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Giles, Dodgers, Indians, Fielder

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Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up over at FOX Sports. Here’s the highlights:

  • The Red Sox wanted to use Brian Giles in right field against certain right-handers, and shift J.D. Drew over to center field for those games. Giles blocked the trade for family reasons, according to Rosenthal, despite the chance at an increased pay day and an opportunity to play in the postseason.
  • Rosenthal says that while the Dodgers are under pressure to re-sign Manny Ramirez, there may be more pressure to sign Casey Blake after this season. Rosenthal points out that Blake is batting .333 in his first 16 games in Dodger blue, and the Dodgers traded away their best young third baseman in Andy LaRoche in order to get Manny. The Dodgers aren’t sold on Blake DeWitt as a long-term option.
  • Rosenthal feels that the Brewers are now less likely to shop Prince Fielder in the offseason, though he points out they could fetch quite a nice haul of Major-League-ready talent if they shopped Fielder as an alternative to Mark Teixeira. Rosenthal feels that J.J. Hardy is a much better bet to be shopped though, as Alcides Escobar could be used to replace him in 2009.
  • Rosenthal wonders if, given Kelly Shoppach’s emergence, the Indians could try to trade him for a top-end starter. Rosenthal offers two scenarios for Cleveland: Trade Shoppach and sign Jason Giambi, or keep Shoppach, sign Orlando Hudson, move Victor Martinez to first base. Both scenarios have the same goal of adding offense and allowing Matt LaPorta to remain in the outfield.

Manny in Pinstripes in 09?

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4:22pm: Rob Neyer has an interesting take on this tidbit. "You think Manny’s too old for a long-term contract?" he asks rhetorically, before running through Gary Sheffield’s late-30s contracts and pointing out that he’ll earn $14 million next year at the age of 40. But wait! "That hasn’t worked out too well for anyone except Sheffield and his agent…Players like Manny Ramirez and Gary Sheffield are exactly what keep teams like the Red Sox, the Mets, the Dodgers, and (especially) the Yankees from winning 100 games every year."

1:58pm: I promised myself no Manny Ramirez posts today, but…George King is reporting that "a close friend" of the slugger’s told him that Manny "wants to play for the Yankees so he can get at the Red Sox." And of course, Ramirez went to high school in the Bronx [correction: upper Manhattan].

The Yankees well know what Ramirez can do with a bat. Only two players—Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams—have more bombs against the Yankees than Ramirez does, and the New York papers greeted news of his departure from rival Boston with unrestrained glee. In 83 at-bats in Yankee Stadium over the past three years, Ramirez has hit .325/.411/.530.

But would the Yankees actually sign him? They can certainly afford him…but my hunch is that they’d prefer to keep working on their youth movement. And if it’s true, as agent Scott Boras has been saying, that Manny wanted to get out of the media-saturated fishbowl of Boston, a move to New York would be completely illogical. On the other hand, this is Manny we’re talking about…not Spock.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Giles, Teixeira, Dunn, Manny

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A few random notes from around the baseball Blogosphere…

  • Orioles Outsider projects what Mark Teixeira should be worth on the open-market and wonders how much above that number the O’s should be willing to go.
  • Baltimore Birds Nest thinks that the only way Teixeira ends up in an O’s uniform next season is if Peter Angelos opens the wallet and makes the biggest offer.
  • Camden Chat would prefer to have Adam Dunn over Teixeira.
  • The Shadow of Manny Ramirez compares the Manny Ramirez trade to a scene from "Sex and the City"…Don’t worry. It went over my head also.
  • Not to be outdone, Soxaholix wonders why every time one of the Sox best players leaves town, it is like an episode of the new "90210".

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

Odds and Ends: Manny, McDonald, Bradford, Bowden

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Collection o’ links…

Odds and Ends: Bay, Clement, Fuentes, Cabrera

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We’ve got plenty of links today.

  • There is speculation that Andruw Jones could be sent back to the minors.
  • Joel Sherman wonders if MLB should’ve gotten involved when Manny Ramirez decided to orchestrate his own exit.  Kind of reminds me of Gary Sheffield intentionally botching plays to force a trade out of Milwaukee in ’92.
  • Gordon Edes stands by his report that Manny pledged to give full effort if the Red Sox dropped his options.  That phone call between Scott Boras and Theo Epstein occurred within an hour of his trade to the Dodgers.
  • Jon Heyman takes us inside the Manny trade.  He says Ramirez signed an agreement in advance that he’d accept a trade to any team if his options were dropped.  Heyman believes Omar Minaya fibbed in saying he had failed trade discussions with Boston.
  • The Red Sox are still waiting to hear whether Joe Borowski will accept their offer of a minor league deal.
  • Dejan Kovacevic gives as inside look at the Jason Bay trade talks here and here.  Did the Rays offer Reid Brignac and Jeff Niemann?  Reports are conflicting.
  • The Cardinals released Matt Clement on Saturday.  Let this serve as another reminder of how hard it is to come back from shoulder surgery.
  • The Cardinals weren’t willing to trade catching prospect Bryan Anderson plus a pitching prospect for Brian Fuentes.  Also, GM John Mozeliak confirmed failed talks for Bay.
  • RotoAuthority takes a look at young pitchers who may face innings caps this year.
  • Another failed deal: Orlando Cabrera to the Orioles in a Brian Roberts deal.
  • Geoff Baker believes that when inside information related to the Blue Jays leaks out, GM J.P. Ricciardi is likely responsible.
  • Please continue to email me if you see a pop-up or full-page ad on MLB Trade Rumors.

Marlins Explored Flipping Manny To Yankees

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Obviously the Red Sox and Yankees never would’ve worked out a trade for Manny Ramirez.  However, CBSSports.com’s Scott Miller says the Marlins briefly explored the idea of acquiring Ramirez and flipping him to the Yankees.  The idea didn’t get anywhere – neither the Yankees nor Scott Boras were having it.

Miller also talked to "a person close to Ramirez" who says he wouldn’t have accepted a trade to the Marlins due to their "big ballpark and unstable ownership."  Miller suggests the Marlins were never actually close to obtaining Ramirez, despite the various reports floating around Wednesday night. 

Jon Heyman wrote Thursday morning that Ramirez consented to a trade to the Marlins though a deal had not been reached.  So we’ve got conflicting reports on his willingness to play there.  Heyman believes the Marlins overplayed their hand, asking for the $7MM to cover Manny’s salary plus $2MM to pay for the resulting draft picks.

Week in Review: 7/27 – 8/2

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We saw the non-waiver trade deadline come and go this week, and plenty of action to go along with it. Let’s recap the big moves of the week:

  • The Dodgers, Pirates, and Red Sox completed a three-team, blockbuster trade that sent Manny Ramirez to Los Angeles, Jason Bay to Boston, and Andy LaRoche, Bryan Morris, Craig Hansen, and Brandon Moss to Pittsburgh. The Pirates got a pretty nice haul, and while Bay won’t necessarily replace Manny’s production, he’s much more affordable, signed through ’09, and doesn’t disrupt the clubhouse. The Dodgers add the big bat they need for a push in the NL West, though are now overloaded with overpaid outfielders. All in all, I don’t think any team made a bad deal in this one.
  • The Angels made a big move in adding Mark Teixeira to their lineup, sending Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Stephen Marek to Atlanta in exchange. The Angels didn’t need help at the time – they’re running away with the AL West – but this move will undoubtedly be significant in the postseason. Great boost to the Halos’ lineup.
  • The White Sox and Reds completed a trade that sent Ken Griffey Jr. to Chicago in exchange for Nick Masset and Danny Richar. I don’t understand this trade from the Sox perspective. Griffey was only hitting .245 at the time of the trade, and his range in center field isn’t close to what it once was. Still, he’s a presence in both the lineup and the clubhouse. Will playing for a contender rejuvenate him?
  • The Yankees acquired future hall-of-famer Ivan Rodriguez from the Tigers in exchange for Kyle Farnsworth. With Jorge Posada out for the season, New York did a good job of solidifying their catcher’s spot, while the Tigers got some much-needed improvement in their bullpen.
  • The Twins aren’t known for making big trades at the deadline, and they held true to that in 2008. However, they made a move that could be bigger than any trade they might have made, when they designated Livan Hernandez for assignment, and recalled Francisco Liriano from Triple-A Rochester. The Twins DFA’ed Craig Monroe as well. The Rockies are looking for a fifth starter, and could have interest in Hernandez.
  • Relievers on the move: Arthur Rhodes was traded to the Marlins, giving them another effective lefty option in the bullpen. The Astros acquired LaTroy Hawkins, still buying despite being 9.5 games out of the wildcard race at the time.
  • The Nationals released Paul Lo Duca and Felipe Lopez. Both were highly unsuccessful this season, though they could generate interest from other teams.
  • Tim explained the rules behind waiver trades for those who are unfamiliar with how the process works after the July 31st non-waiver deadline. He also takes a look at some noteable names who stayed put at the deadline.
  • Minor moves: The Yankees signed Victor Zambrano to a minor league contract, while the Red Sox did the same with former Cleveland closer Joe Borowski.
  • The Diamondbacks are talking extension with their second ace, Dan Haren.
  • USA Today wrote an article on MLBTR. Check it out!

Boras Denies Calling Red Sox

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Tony Masarotti of the Boston Herald reports that Scott Boras denies having ever called the Red Sox in a last ditch effort to keep Manny Ramirez in Boston, as reported yesterday. Ramirez seems happy to be gone and it didn’t make sense that he would’ve made an attempt to stay in Boston after such a messy divorce.

MLBTR readers seem to be either exhausted by this story, or think the Red Sox made the right move. Peter Gammons’ blog entry from last week is a must read.

Moving on, in another article, Masarotti details just how much money the Red Sox will have to play with this offseason:

"Look at it this way: Based on the formula used to calculate luxury tax, the Red Sox finished 2007 with a payroll just shy of $165 million. By Opening Day of this year, that number was down to about $150 million. By November, that number will be closer to $110 million, which means the Red Sox could have between $40 million and $55 million to spend, if not more."

Manny Wanted To Stay?

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The never-ending soap opera that was Manny Ramirez in a Red Sox uniform has one final gasp this morning. Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe is reporting that an hour after the trade had been completed and the veteran had been informed he was L.A.-bound, Manny’s agent, Scott Boras, called the Sox with one final offering:

"If the Sox dropped the option years on his contract – which they had agreed to do if they traded him – Boras said Ramírez would not be a problem the rest of the season."

We now know (obviously) that the response from the Red Sox front office was negative, and there’s no question that this move was, at the very least, instigated by Boras. Keep in mind that Manny’s contract with the Sox was not of Boras’ design as he was hired by the slugger in February.

For the record, Boras denied pulling strings in the Manny deal.

Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Post-deadline rumors? Comments? alexo05 [at] umpbump [daught] com.

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