Nationals Rumors

Nats Ink Odalis Perez To Minor League Deal

By | February 5, 2009 at 8:29pm CDT

Bill Ladson of MLB.com reports that left-hander Odalis Perez has agreed to return to the Nationals on a minor league contract. It’s surprising to see that he didn’t do better, but maybe Perez did what he had to to remain in Washington.

Perez, 31, finished with a 7-12 record last season, but he made 14 quality starts and wound up with a 4.34 ERA. It was his lowest earned run average since 2004. Manager Manny Acta had this to say about Perez at the end of last season:

"He has given us a lot of quality starts and the innings that we were hoping he would give us out of Spring Training. We think he could have easily won double-digits, almost 15 wins, with any type of help."

Jays, Kevin Millar Close To Deal

By Tim Dierkes | February 5, 2009 at 8:52am CDT

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, first baseman Kevin Millar is "almost certain" to sign a minor league deal with the Blue Jays today or tomorrow. The Mets, Yankees, Nationals, and Rangers had also been in on Millar. Rich Aurilia has been recommended for the Mets by several writers, but Joel Sherman of the New York Post learned they’ve yet to make contact with his agent.

Millar, 37, hit .234/.323/.394 in 610 plate appearances last year.

Manny Ramirez Rumors: Tuesday

By | February 3, 2009 at 11:33pm CDT

11:33pm: According to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick, Scott Boras said he expects to resume contract talks for Ramirez with the Dodgers on Wednesday. The Manny rumors were fractured into various posts today at MLBTR – here’s the one about the Mets not being involved, and here’s the one about Ramirez rejecting the Dodgers’ one-year, $25MM offer.

We also have an article from David Waldstein of the New York Times, where Yankees GM Brian Cashman says:

"People expect us to get in on Manny, but it’s not going to happen. We’re in the nonroster invitee mode. He’s a great player, but when you look at our payroll, we’re tapped."

9:39pm: Bobby Evans, Giants VP of Player Personnel, appeared Tuesday night on XM Radio’s Home Plate show. Manny was obviously a hot topic. Check out some of the quotes from the interview:

"Manny is amongst a number of different options out there, he’s clearly the most renowned player and probably future hall of famer, so you can’t deny interest if there’s an opportunity to bring him to the Giants."

"We’re going to monitor the market of him, it doesn’t seem to be going down, although he did turn down this offer, it was a 1 year offer verse a 2 year offer that was for more money. Again ultimately I don’t know which way it will go, but we’re going to stay engaged and see what happens."

8:48pm: Chris Haft of MLB.com makes a case for the Giants signing Manny. Unlike the Nationals, who made their stance known almost immediately, Giants officials refused to comment Tuesday after news broke that the Dodgers’ offer was rejected.

7:35pm: Nationals GM Jim Bowden reaffirmed Tuesday evening that his club is not in the hunt for Manny Ramirez. Bill Ladson filed the report for MLB.com.

"We are not pursuing Manny Ramirez," Bowden said. As Ladson points out, "the Nationals are overloaded with right-handed-hitting outfielders, plus he’s 36 years old. The Nationals have often said that they are looking for players for the long term."

The Nats have focused on landing Adam Dunn and reportedly offered him a contract some time ago. He should come at a cheaper price than Manny and Washington can feel more comfortable offering the 29-year-old Dunn a mutli-year contract.

Nats Ink Valentin To Minor League Deal

By | February 3, 2009 at 7:10pm CDT

According to Chico Harlan of the Washington Post, the Nationals have signed catcher Javier Valentin to a minor league contract.

Valentin, 33, hit .256/.326/.411 with four home runs and 18 RBI in 129 at-bats for the Reds last season. He’ll be given a shot to win the backup catching job over Wil Nieves this spring. Nieves, 31, batted .261/.309/.341 with one dinger and 20 RBI in 176 at-bats during the ’08 season.

Dodgers Rumors: Manny, Dunn, Hudson, Wolf

By Tim Dierkes | February 3, 2009 at 3:11pm CDT

3:11pm: Dylan Hernandez and Bill Shaikin asked Dodgers owner Frank McCourt about the Manny situation:

"We very much want this player back and we’re trying to hard to do that, which is why we came up with something that we thought was creative that gave him a lot of money, well-deserved money, in a very, very challenging economy, but also gave him flexibility. I don’t see the long-term contract happening in this particular baseball market that we’re in."

More McCourt quotes from MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick:

"The other thing is, the agent [Scott Boras] is challenging to work with and we’ve tried hard. We’ve made three efforts and we still have not received a specific number from the agent, and I don’t know what to tell you. At some point, you have to move on and start to get ready to win a championship."

SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Dodgers and Manny are "nowhere near a deal."

11:55am: Dodgers GM Ned Colletti says the team remains interested in Ramirez despite the newly rejected offer, according to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says "the Giants still maintain interest in Ramirez on a two-year deal max."

ESPN’s Jayson Stark has info on their progressing pursuit of Wolf:

It’s believed the Dodgers are offering a one-year deal with an option that could be similar to the contract free-agent starter Jon Garland just signed with Arizona.

11:39am: ESPN’s Buster Olney says the Dodgers are considering their Manny alternatives, including going after Hudson and Dunn.

8:38am: Manny Ramirez has rejected another offer from the Dodgers, this time for one year and $25MM. This offer seemed like something that could work for both sides – Manny gets a salary increase and a chance to re-enter the market quickly, the Dodgers minimize their risk and keep that free agency carrot in front of him. Manny and Scott Boras did not agree.

Ken Rosenthal suggests the Giants and perhaps the Nationals as Manny’s remaining suitors if the Dodgers drop out. There is no indication that those teams will top the Dodgers’ offers. What is Boras’ master plan here?

Rosenthal says the Dodgers are "intrigued by the possibility" of signing Randy Wolf, Orlando Hudson, and Adam Dunn instead of Ramirez. He says Wolf "should be theirs by the end of the week." It should be noted that the Dodgers would lose their #17 pick if they sign Hudson or Orlando Cabrera prior to the June draft.

Odds and Ends: Wieters, Varitek, Ohman

By Tim Dierkes | February 3, 2009 at 12:54pm CDT

Links for Tuesday…

Chat today, 2pm CST.
RotoAuthority explains why Matt Wieters is a good fantasy pick even if he doesn’t debut with the Orioles til mid-May.
Baseball America’s Jim Callis has the updated ’09 June draft order.
Cristian Guzman was wise to sign a two-year, $16MM extension when he did, his agent tells MLB.com’s Bill Ladson.
An agreement to sell the Padres to Jeff Moorad could be done by mid-month, says Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Jason Varitek doesn’t need to worry about regaining Type A status, says Rob Bradford of WEEI.
Nothing appears imminent with the Phillies and Will Ohman, David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News writes.

Adam Dunn Has Offer From Nationals

By Tim Dierkes | February 3, 2009 at 10:02am CDT

According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, Adam Dunn received a contract offer from the Nationals. He’s been sitting on it for a while, indicating the Nats are not his top choice. Jayson Stark has said Dunn prefers the Dodgers, and is waiting to see how the Manny Ramirez situation plays out.

Dunn has been only loosely connected to the Braves and Red Sox.

Manny Turns Down Dodgers’ One-Year Offer

By | February 3, 2009 at 1:33am CDT

1:33am: Ramirez has turned down the Dodgers’ one-year offer, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports. The Dodgers have confirmed it.

Hernandez lists the Mets, Giants and Nationals as teams that are monitoring Ramirez’ market.

The Dodgers could find themselves in a bind if Ramirez receives a multi-year offer from another club. If Ramirez is offered what he considers a fair deal, sources close to him say that he wouldn’t grant the Dodgers a chance to match it, forcing the Dodgers to go into Spring Training without their only star attraction and reliable run producer.

Hernandez believes the Dodgers could possibly pursue free agent outfielders Adam Dunn or Bobby Abreu if they don’t re-sign Ramirez.

9:11pm Monday: ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark reports that Ramirez and agent Scott Boras were given a 48-hour deadline to either accept or reject the offer.

7:40pm Monday: According to Tony Jackson of the Los Angeles Daily News, the Dodgers have made another offer to Manny Ramirez. This time it’s a one-year deal worth $25MM.

Dodgers GM Ned Colletti confirmed that the offer was made last night. "We are still trying to sign Manny, and we hope that this will make him happy,” Colletti said. The team’s first offer was two years, $45 million with a club option for 2011. As Jackson notes, these are the only known offers extended to Ramirez since he filed for free agency last fall.

Orlando Hudson On MLB Network

By Tim Dierkes | February 2, 2009 at 11:00pm CDT

Free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson appeared on the MLB Network today. Barry Larkin asked which teams he’s talking to, and he named the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, and Nationals. None of the teams have said anything to Hudson’s agent about changing positions. Hudson says right now he sees himself as a second baseman. Ken Rosenthal says Hudson "seems to be banking on [the Mets or Yankees] pursuing a creative solution."

Hudson, 31, hit .305/.367/.450 in 455 plate appearances for Arizona last year while earning $6.25MM. Based on the plus/minus system, Hudson did not flash his typical stellar glovework in ’08. The market for Hudson has been held down partially because he is a Type A free agent who turned down the D’Backs offer of arbitration. That means whoever signs him will give up a draft pick. Another factor may be the broken wrist he suffered in August.

Odds and Ends: Hearings, Anderson, Selig

By Tim Dierkes | February 2, 2009 at 2:23pm CDT

Links for Monday…

MLB.com’s Tom Singer looks at the effects of arbitration hearings on players. He found that most players don’t experience a post-hearing performance decline, but they do change teams at the first opportunity.
MLB.com’s Lyle Spencer says the Angels and Ervin Santana are $725K apart with a hearing scheduled for later this month and "no progress" according to GM Tony Reagins.
The Tigers are hopeful about bridging the $950K gap with Justin Verlander.
Athletics Nation’s conversation with MLB.com’s Mychael Urban, Part 2.
Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald wouldn’t be surprised to see the White Sox trade Brian Anderson.
Murray Chass reflects on the Homestead camp for unsigned players heading into the 1995 season.
Commissioner Bud Selig earned $18.35MM in the last fiscal year, according to Eric Fisher of Sports Business Journal.
The latest minor league transactions from Baseball America, including the Nationals’ signing of Alex Cintron and the Rockies’ addition of Scott Munter.
Even with a new stadium, the Marlins will continue to prefer going year-to-year with most players.

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