MLB Rumors: Manny Ramirez And Andruw Jones

by faketeams on Jan 3, 2009 9:15 AM EST in Baseball

Henry Schulman of theSan Francisco Chronicle comes round to the Manny Ramirez rumors and reports the Giants are interested. Whether the Giants become more than a tool for Scott Boras following the Los Angeles Dodgers restructuring of Andruw Jones 2009 contract, we will see.

With the Dodgers freeing $12MM from its 2009 payroll, one is lead to believe the team is freeing up cash for a run at Manny Ramirez at a salary greater than the two-years and $45MM previously offerred. Why jump to that conclusion? According to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times, the Dodgers 2009 payroll is set to plummet 45% from $119MM to $65 million.

That aside, the bigger question for fantasy baseballers is whether Andruw Jones retains any value whatsoever coming off a season where he hit .158 and managed an OBP (.256) and SLG (.249) that look more like a weak middle infielder than a strike-out-or-hit-a-home-run power hitter. Is there a situation where someone would draft him?

I am not convinced he is a better risk than a flyer on a closer, breakout starting pitcher or sleeper middle infielder like Mike Fontenot of the Chicago Cubs or Brandon Wood of the Los Angeles Angels.

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The Hand of Boras

With all due respect to Raygu’s belief in Colletti’s newly found skills as GM….

Does anyone really believe that the renegotiation of Andruw’s contract is not in some way related to freeing up money for Manny?

by Rad on Jan 3, 2009 11:51 AM EST reply actions

+1

I agree but to get that done is a minor miracle, no?

raygu

by Ray Guilfoyle on Jan 3, 2009 12:41 PM EST reply actions

Depends

Depends on how much they overpay for Manny. Only Boras will know that amount for sure- since there is no way of knowing of the amounts of the others bids (if any). Also, I doubt that the Players Assoc will allow Jones to take a haircut on a gtd contract. So the Dodgers may only be extending the payment time on the money. So the bill will eventually become due.

by Rad on Jan 3, 2009 1:30 PM EST up reply actions

Moving Jones Will Be An Uptick on Colletti's Scorecard but..

he is the moron who signed him, and Pierre, and Furcal in the first place. As for the two Braves, didn’t most of us learn when the Braves let a guy go, they have good reason.

And with Furcal, how does a guy coming off back surgery (not knee surgery) get another big, long contract, because he played a week in September!? Why can’t injured questionable players sign for an overly genereous salary on a one year deal with incentives and options. Furcal 17 million one year- not worth it, but like in Roto, the desperate owner who needs the sbs can pay it if he wants to.

by Clinton Country on Jan 3, 2009 6:12 PM EST reply actions

clinton

i guess you forget the media praising Colletti for signing Jones to just two years….sheehan loved it, olney and neyer as well…..
Rad-what is the definition of overpay??
as for Jones contract, yes, they are just extending the time on the contract, while freeing up $12mm for this year.

raygu

by Ray Guilfoyle on Jan 3, 2009 7:31 PM EST reply actions

Overpay

I mean the difference between what manny signs for and $1 over the amount of the next highest bid. To be fair, the genius of Boras is that he gets teams to bid against themselves and overpay all the time.

As I understand it, if the Dodgers trade Jones, they are still on the hook for $17 million over the next six years. And if they can’t trade Jones, they are going to release him and pay him the $5 million. So they could be paying $22 million for Jones not to play for them. The good news is that it will be over a longer period of time. So Ned shouldn’t be making a space for that trophy so quickly.

by Rad on Jan 4, 2009 2:10 AM EST up reply actions

LA w/o Jones on the roster

is the biggest plus here. They would have to pay him either way, as nobody was going to trade for him, and if they did, LA would’ve had to eat salary. He doesn’t take up a roster spot, and provides them more money to go after Manny and some free agent pitchers, as I think McDonald will end up in the bullpen along with Elbert, Kuo, Wade and Broxton. Still a solid bullpen if they all pitch like they did last year….especially Kuo and Wade. McDonald will be the long man, Elbert the 2nd lefty. Kuo and McD could fill in as closer should Broxton get injured. Then again, Ned may sign Hoffman to a one year deal.

raygu

by Ray Guilfoyle on Jan 4, 2009 12:28 PM EST reply actions