Manny Ramirez Rumors: Tuesday
The New York Post reports that Dodgers owner Frank McCourt told the MLB Network Tuesday that his club is still hoping to sign free agent outfielder Manny Ramirez.
"Well hopefully we are going to sign him soon," McCourt told the "Hot Stove" program. "That is certainly our intention."
"You know Manny had a tremendous impact on L.A. and made great contributions to our run at the end of last season," McCourt continued. "I’ve seldom seen a situation like his with our fans. I mean that love affair was tremendous. It’s our intention to try and bring Manny back. We’ve tried to do that, been unsuccessful to date, but that doesn’t mean we are going to stop trying."
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Monday
Interesting note yesterday from ESPN’s Peter Gammons, related to the Manny Ramirez negotiations:
Scott Boras has put the heat on Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, and there has been no love lost. The L.A. scouting department has been told it will not draft Boras clients come June.
Gammons adds that the Giants "may well be seriously considering constructing a three-year package for Manny."
Ramirez recently spoke with Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, and the slugger described his situation this way:
"We’re in the seventh inning and I’m waiting for my pitch."
Giants Offer Contract To Joe Crede?
MONDAY: Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle weighed in on the Giants’ reported offer to Crede:
While I have no reason to doubt its accuracy, since special assistant Ron Schueler watched Crede’s workout and provided a good report, I have been told the Giants are not counting on a deal with Crede and expect to move forward with Travis Ishikawa or John Bowker at first base and Pablo Sandoval at third, unless something else comes along. General manager Brian Sabean said Saturday he explored some trades last week that went nowhere. One report had Crede seeking $7MM for one season. If the Giants did make an offer, I’d guess the guarantee was for less than half that.
It’s also possible that the Giants will have Rich Aurilia back in the mix; they have a minor league offer out to him.
SATURDAY: Kim Coyle of CBS 5 in San Francisco reports that the Giants have offered Joe Crede a one-year contract. The terms of the contract were not made available. The Twins have shown an interest in Crede as well, though there have been no reports of a contract offer from them.
Crede Seeking $7MM
Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports Joe Crede is asking for $7MM, rather than the previously reported $5MM. Christensen reports the $7MM figure makes it less likely Crede will land with the Twins who are reluctant to commit even $5MM to a player who was limited to 97 games in 2008 and 47 in 2007. However, as it stands the Twins opening day payroll will be $60.15MM, down from $74MM last year. It’s safe to assume Crede’s agents know that.
The Giants recently made their offer to Crede for one year. Still no reports of an offer from Minnesota.
Sabean Speaks: Manny, Dunn, Abreu
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News posted highlights from a press conference with Giants GM Brian Sabean:
- Sabean said he does not see Manny Ramirez as a "silver bullet to save the day." He would rather add reinforcements at the trade deadline.
- The Giants are not interested in Adam Dunn or Bobby Abreu, even at deflated prices. Sabean said that signing Abreu would force a logjam in the outfield, and he does not want to create a situation in which he would have to trade a player.
- Sabean said that he has discussed trades with some clubs this week. The players discussed were entering the final years of their contracts. Sabean argued that it was not a case of the Giants being unwilling to take on a contract saying, "Those players come at a cost of talent."
Giants Have Minor League Offer Out To Aurilia
5:19 pm: Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Aurilia is thinking over the Giants’ offer.
In a phone interview, Aurilia acknowledged that many players are settling for minor league offers. "It’s something we’re mulling over," he said. "We’re trying to counter-proposal them a little bit and see what we can come up with."
Aurilia thinks he would be a valuable addition to a young infield like the Giants’ and said that he was "hoping to nail this down."
4:39 In an update to his blog, the San Jose Mercury News’ Andrew Baggarly reports that the San Francisco Giants have made an offer to Rich Aurilia.
The offer is a non-guaranteed, minor-league contract that would pay Aurilia $1MM if he were to make the major league team, with some additional incentives as well.
Baggarly says the Phillies are in on Aurilia as well, but Baggarly says Brian Sabean isn’t sure of the extent of the Phillies’ interest.
Baggarly also writes that Aurilia is interested in a return to the Giants.
The Corner Outfield-DH Market
There are still many jobless players who could contribute as a corner outfielder or a DH, so it’s a good time to take stock of the market. Manny Ramirez, Adam Dunn and Bobby Abreu are the big names, but Garret Anderson, Andruw Jones, Luis Gonzalez, Jim Edmonds and Ken Griffey Jr. want jobs and Jermaine Dye, Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher could be available through trades.
Here’s a look at the teams who have reportedly had interest in this type of player, starting in the AL:
- White Sox: They thought about Abreu and Dye’s been involved in rumors all offseason, much to the frustration of Kenny Williams. Dye will earn $11.5MM in 2009.
- Angels: They aren’t interested in Dye, but they could be interested in Abreu or Dunn at the right price. Don’t look for them to make a play for Manny though; GM Tony Reagins said it won’t happen. Garret Anderson won’t be back.
- Mariners: The Ms could sign Griffey, but they prefer Abreu and Anderson.
- Braves: They are the top suitor for Swisher and they have some interest in bringing back Jones. Atlanta has about $5-9MM to spend, so they could change plans and pursue Dunn or Abreu if they’re willing to accept a deal worth under $10MM. Don’t rule out a Nady trade, either.
- Nationals: The Nats have offered Dunn a contract, which he’s been sitting on for a while. They’re also monitoring the Manny market.
- Mets: Abreu and Ramirez won’t sign with the Mets this offseason. If Griffey’s willing to sign at a major discount, he could sign with the Mets, but indications are he wants $5-6MM.
- Dodgers: The Dodgers have targeted Manny Ramirez all offseason, and he’s rejected two contract offers from them. The first was for $45MM over two years with a club option; the second was for $25MM over one year. Dunn appears to like the Dodgers, and Abreu’s an option, too.
- Giants: The Giants are also courting Manny, but some have said they just want to prevent the Dodgers from getting a deal. Abreu could also fit in San Francisco.
- Reds: Yet another team that could pursue Abreu, the Reds spoke with Luis Gonzalez’s agent ealier in the winter. Adam Dunn won’t return to Cincinnati this offseason.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Friday
9:04pm: Tony Jackson of the Los Angeles Daily News spoke with Dodgers GM Ned Colletti on Friday. Jackson asked if there would come a time when the Dodgers will simply have to move on from their pursuit of Manny. Here’s Colletti’s response:
"At some point in time, yes, but I’m not sure when that point in time will come yet. We signed Furcal, we signed Loretta, we signed Ausmus, we signed Casey Blake, we signed Wolf, and we signed Mota. We haven’t been sitting and waiting for one player to sign. We have been active, and we have continued to put a club together. At some point in time, we have to come to a conclusion. But we’re not there yet, and we’re still open-minded.”
8:17pm: A few current Giants offered perspectives Friday on the possibility of having Manny in the clubhouse:
"You’d be an idiot if you didn’t say a guy like Manny Ramirez can’t help your team," center fielder Aaron Rowand said. "But even with that being said, there’s not a guy in here who’s looking at that and hoping and praying. To a man, we’re all confident about what we have right now."
"Manny Ramirez is an unbelievable hitter," said right fielder Randy Winn. "He’s probably the best RBI guy that I’ve ever played against. Of course he’s going to help any team he goes to. But it’s nothing I can focus on because it’s kind of like a trade rumor. It’s probably not going to happen."
4:44pm: Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has a Manny Ramirez update today, from the Giants’ point of view. Most Giants execs, as well as former owner Peter Magowan, expect Manny to re-sign with the Dodgers. They’ll continue to explore the possibility though.
On the other hand, ESPN’s Jayson Stark talked to one official who regularly speaks with the Giants’ front office. That person thinks new owner Bill Neukom wants to make a splash and said, "I would watch the Giants" in regard to Manny. The official also suggested the Giants may have "more dollars to spend than they’ve been letting on."
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Wednesday
9:46pm: Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reports that Ramirez’s agent, Scott Boras, and Dodgers GM Ned Colletti spoke by phone Wednesday. As Stark writes, "There were no indications the two sides made any significant progress toward resolving their differences. But they did agree to stay in touch over the next several days."
6:55pm: Giants manager Bruce Bochy appeared on XM Radio’s Home Plate program Wednesday afternoon. Manny was discussed:
The host, Lee Hamilton, asked Bochy whether the Giants are in on Ramirez. His response: "Well, I’ll say this, he is a free agent, Lee. There have been talks."
"I can’t quantify how much of a player, but this guy no question a tremendous player. Impacts the game, very few players can, it’s got to be the right thing. This is a business, you understand, that as a manager my job is to manage the players. Whatever ownership can do, which they done a lot already, I’ve got to be thankful for what we’ve done. Acquiring [Randy] Johnson, relievers, [Edgar] Renteria, but as long he [Ramirez] is still out there, you never know."
9:29am: We start out today’s Manny Ramirez rumors with a Scott Boras quote obtained by Yahoo’s Tim Brown, which apparently refers to the Dodgers:
"What I do know, you better watch out when you’re playing chicken."
Meanwhile, Buster Olney wonders if Manny, not Boras, is behind the holdout.
Need a refresher on all the recent developments in this saga? Check out our Manny archive.
Phillies, Giants Considering Rich Aurilia
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick spoke to Rich Aurilia‘s agent Barry Axelrod, who said the Orioles’ Ty Wigginton signing might move things along for his client. The Giants and Phillies had been interested in Wiggy and maintain interest in Aurilia. Ken Davidoff of Newsday would like to see the Mets get in on him.
Ken Rosenthal wrote earlier today that the Phillies also continue to monitor Nomar Garciaparra, who is "trying to decide whether he is physically sound enough to play next season."