2006-2007 Baseball Offseason Thread....

[Buccaneer]

As B-e brought up, a crisis was averted for the Pads. The worse fear would have been Dusty Baker, Alan Trammel or (ugh) Tony Muser as manager. I couldn't even contemplate what horrors Baker would have done to this young team.

[Bad-example]

J.D. Drew decided to opt out of his deal with the Dodgers. He was due 33 million over the next 3 seasons. I am guessing most Dodger fans will not be too heartbroken. Rumor has it he will be signing a new deal with Kaiser Permanente soon.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

As B-e brought up, a crisis was averted for the Pads. The worse fear would have been Dusty Baker, Alan Trammel or (ugh) Tony Muser as manager. I couldn't even contemplate what horrors Baker would have done to this young team.

You're telling me - we got your crap manager, and instead of replacing him with a Brenley or a Muser, you got a young "unproven" guy. The horror!

[miami_fan]

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Indians are close to hiring former Rangers manager Buck Showalter as a senior adviser to team general manager Mark Shapiro and manager Eric Wedge, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Friday.

"We're negotiating with Buck and he's negotiating with us," Shapiro told the Plain Dealer.

Previously, Shapiro has brought in former big-league managers Terry Francona and Mike Hargrove as advisers. This time, the stakes may be higher: Shapiro and Wedge are both entering the final year of their contracts, and the Indians are coming off a disappointing season.

But Sharpiro dismissed any suggestion of Showalter, who previously managed the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks, being a manager-in-waiting should the Indians falter out of the gate again. "I wouldn't even dignify that with a comment," Sharpiro told the newspaper.


A deal is expected to be announced after next week's GM meetings in Naples, Fla., the newspaper reported.


Sharpiro may not want to say it but I will. The writing is on the wall Eric

[Neuqua]

Outside the Lines just reported the Yankees trade Sheffield to the Tigers.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

Outside the Lines just reported the Yankees trade Sheffield to the Tigers.

The Detroit Tigers have acquired Gary Sheffield from the New York Yankees for three righthanded pitching prospects, the Tigers announced Friday.

In return for Sheffield, the Tigers sent Humberto Sanchez, Kevin Whelan and Anthony Claggett to New York. Detroit agreed to a two-year contract extension with Sheffield through the 2009 season.

[Ksyrup]

Wow. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

[Ksyrup]

Oh, and you missed the paragraph they tagged onto the story a couple of minutes later...

"The moves comes a aday after Sheffield angrily blasted Yankees management and said Bobby Abreu, the player who took his place in New York's lineup, isn't a good a player as he is."

[GreenMonster]

Schilling, Beckett, Papelbon, Matsuzaka.. Ya i might enjoy that rotation although I think this is the year Schilling really goes south..

[Ksyrup]

In FOF terms, I'd rate that rotation's Volatility factor at 92%.

Schilling could turn into Randy Johnson at any point (and to some degree, already has).

Beckett may never be as good as he was in the WS a few years back due to his stubborn insistence to keep throwing fastballs instead of learning how to pitch.

Papelbon proved he could close, but how that translates to starting is anyone's guess.

Matsu might need some adjustment time, but could be the steadiest starter they have.

I guess Wakefield will be the #5 if Matsu is signed.

[Crapshoot]

The Yankees just robbed the Tigers - I have no clue what DD was thinking there.

[stevew]

I dunno who any of those guys are. But sheff being gone is good enough for me.

[highfiveoh]

Is Sheffield going to be the Tigers hitting coach or something? 3rd base coach?

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

The Yankees just robbed the Tigers - I have no clue what DD was thinking there.

How do you figure?

I really know nothing about the pitchers, but Shef will make a great DH and platoon in RF with Ordonez. He might even help Mags have another healthy season...

[Router Help]

Sheffield should be good for the Tigers, but losing Sanchez really hurts. He is supposed to be really really good. I would have liked to see Sanchez put in a year of long relief from the bullpen and then take Kenny Rogers spot in the rotation in 2 years. Oh well.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by M GO BLUE!!!

How do you figure?

I really know nothing about the pitchers, but Shef will make a great DH and platoon in RF with Ordonez. He might even help Mags have another healthy season...

He's 38 - and they gave him a 2 year extenstion. He's got no defensive ability left, and his hitting (while above average) is simply not that great. I think going after JD Drew and signing him (say for 4/52) is a heck of a better bet than trading for a 38 year old coming off a bad year - plus you get to keep the prospects, which are the single greatest chip in the game today (Sanchez was essentially a major league ready pitcher, though there's some evidence he might end up in the pen). The Tigers are sacrificing the long-term horizon for a short term one, and when they need to extend Guillen next year, they might well sight the money spent here as a reason not to.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

The Tigers are sacrificing the long-term horizon for a short term one, and when they need to extend Guillen next year, they might well sight the money spent here as a reason not to.

Ilitch will spend as much money as he can now that the team has proven that they're a contender. I am very, very confident that they'll re-sign Gullen.

As far as Sanchez, he had one good year in the minors, and ended up getting hurt at the end of the season. In 2005, he had like a 5 + ERA in AA. He has talent, but the jury's still out since he hasn't shown anything consistant in the minors.

The Tigers have a plethora of young pitching in the majors and the minors. There was no way that Sanchez would crack the rotation anytime soon, with guys like Miller, Bonderman, Verlander, Robertson, and ever Jordan Tata ahead of him. In fact, the best player the Tigers gave up was Whelan, but Zumaya's the future closer, so it really wasn't much of a loss.

I think it was a good move for both teams, and I certainly don't think either team was robbed.

[Crapshoot]

Schmidty, I understand dealing Sanchez (and I think it makes sense for the Tigers do deal from a surplus), but I would have at least tried to see if you could get someone younger. Sheffield is going to be a burden who can't play the field, and I don't know if that is a good strategy.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Schmidty, I understand dealing Sanchez (and I think it makes sense for the Tigers do deal from a surplus), but I would have at least tried to see if you could get someone younger. Sheffield is going to be a burden who can't play the field, and I don't know if that is a good strategy.

I honestly think that Sheffield will DH or maybe even moved to 1st. Monroe, Magglio, and Granderson aren't going to go anywhere (unless they trade Monroe).

[Router Help]

Dombrowski pretty much said on the radio today that he would primarily be a DH, and that they were not looking for him to play first. He also said they were talking to Casey about staying to play 1B.

[Toddzilla]

w00t!

The Cubs re-sign Aramis Ramirez and Kerry Wood. Woody isn't the big proze, obviously, as Aramis was getting much attention from the big spenders this offseason. Ramirez leaves a bunch on money on the table to stay in Chicago. Wow...

Originally Posted by Trib

The Cubs got a two-for-one special on Sunday, re-signing free agents Aramis Ramirez and Kerry Wood.

Ramirez agreed to a 5-year, $73 million deal on Sunday with a mutual option for 2012, ending a months-long saga about his future. Wood agreed to a one-year, $1.75 million deal loaded with incentives that could add another $6 million to his salary.


Intense negotiations over the weekend sealed the Ramirez deal, which was announced on Sunday afternoon, hours after the Cubs exclusive negotiating window ended.

Ramirez's agent, Paul Kinzer, believed Alfonso Soriano and Ramirez would be the top two available free agent hitters, and was going to seek a contract on par with Carlos Beltran's seven-year, $119 million deal with the New York Mets.

General manager Jim Hendry said Ramirez left as much as $30 million on the table to return, while Wood also came for less than he could've made on the open market.

"At the end of the day (Ramirez) really did want to be here," Hendry said. "it's not much secret that the figures being bantered around in his situation would've been much higher. I think that as good a deal as this obviously is for any player, I certainly believe there were six-or-seven-year deals out there for him, that certainly would've paid him $20-$30 million more than he got, guaranteed. He was the lucky beneficiary of being a free agent at a time when his services were certainly going to be needed by some quality clubs and some major market clubs.

"I think the people in Chicago would be glad to know that at the end of the day, he did leave a lot."

Over the last four seasons, Ramirez has combined for 132 home runs and 420 RBIs, as opposed to 148 homers and 381 RBIs by Soriano, who has primarily batted leadoff over that span. Carlos Lee, the third big-name, free agent outfielder, has 131 homers and 442 RBIs over the last four seasons.

The Los Angeles Angels were poised to sign Ramirez on the first day, but the Cubs beat them to the punch. Wood will return as a reliever, hoping to regain his arm strength after rehabbing a rotator cuff injury since August. He said in September he felt an "obligation" to return, and lived up to his word.

"Despite his physical problems, there was a lot of action on Woody that probably would've given him a base (salary) of almost twice as much as we did," Hendry said, referring to interest from suitors like Texas, Boston and Houston. "I think as well as Woody's been paid the last couple of years, Woody did show a great amount of loyalty here by coming back."

Wood has incentives on games finished in his contract, which will likely lead to speculation he'll replace Ryan Dempster as the closer in 2007. Hendry said the incentives were not unusual, and that Bob Howry and Scott Eyre, the Cubs' primary set-up men, also have similar incentives. He said manager Lou Piniella and pitching coach Larry Rothschild are in agreement that Dempster can return to form as a closer, following a disappointing season in '06.

[Fouts]

Amazing. I thought Ramirez would move to a winner.

[Cuckoo]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

w00t!

The Cubs re-sign Aramis Ramirez and Kerry Wood. Woody isn't the big proze, obviously, as Aramis was getting much attention from the big spenders this offseason. Ramirez leaves a bunch on money on the table to stay in Chicago. Wow...

Very good news. I had almost given up hope on Ramirez, figuring he'd go for the payday. Nice to see this, though. Makes me a much bigger fan of his.

Same for Wood, in fact. I've been a huge Wood fan from the beginning, and I really liked it when he said that he feels like he "owes" the Cubs something after collecting such big salaries while being injured. He'll always be a "what could've been" kind of story, but he still has the potential to be a valuable contributor in the coming years for Chicago.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

w00t!

The Cubs re-sign Aramis Ramirez and Kerry Wood. Woody isn't the big proze, obviously, as Aramis was getting much attention from the big spenders this offseason. Ramirez leaves a bunch on money on the table to stay in Chicago. Wow...

5/$14M per- left quite a bit on the table but can't put a price on liking where you play. I still don't quite understand why more players don't do this.

SI

[Ksyrup]

Orioles pick up of Jaret Wright was a pretty good deal for them. The Yanks eat $4M of his $7M salary. For $3M, the Orioles should get their money's worth. At least, he should be marginally better than Russ Ortiz...

[Ksyrup]

FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal reports that Aramis Ramirez's five-year contract with the Cubs is actually worth $75 million, not $73 million, and that he has an out clause after 2010.

The extra $2 million comes in the form of a buyout for his 2012 option. Rosenthal also reports that Ramirez received full no-trade protection for the first four years of his deal and his contract stipulates that any team that acquires him in the fifth year will be obligated to exercise his sixth-year option.

[Ksyrup]

According to the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo, the buzz around the GM meetings is that the Red Sox have already made an offer to J.D. Drew.

Sox officials didn't issue a denial when asked. If the Red Sox signed Drew, they'd have the flexibility to trade either Coco Crisp or Wily Mo Pena. They could potential keep both, but they do need bullpen help and subtracting an outfielder might be the key to getting it.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Orioles pick up of Jaret Wright was a pretty good deal for them. The Yanks eat $4M of his $7M salary. For $3M, the Orioles should get their money's worth. At least, he should be marginally better than Russ Ortiz...

Remember what Mazzone and Wright did together back in 2004! The Orioles are going to the World Series!

[Ksyrup]

Yeah, but for the money, it's not a bad investment. What the Orioles may have screwed up on was giving up a legit young reliever for him. Honestly, I am embarrassed to admit I'd never heard of the guy, and he apparently threw 50+ innings last year. That was probably a bad idea.

I like what the Yankees have done with these 2 trades. Ironically, they've kinda followed the Marlins' plan of dealing players for young pitching. Except instead of trading good players, they're trading old and/or crappy players, and instead of building their roster around the young talent, they're likely going to use them to trade for starting pitching. It wouldn't shock me to see Sanchez moved in a deal for one of the White Sox starters.

[Chief Rum]

I don't want to hear any Red Sox fans talking about the "Evil Empire" anymore.

$42 M? And that's just to negotiate with a guy who has never thrown a major league pitch.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I don't want to hear any Red Sox fans talking about the "Evil Empire" anymore.

$42 M? And that's just to negotiate with a guy who has never thrown a major league pitch.

Actually, it is for 51 mill.

[Mr. Wednesday]

$51 million is insane.

[stevew]

They can still be low budget scrappy underdogs in my book.

[Young Drachma]

Besides, it's a lot of money..but the alternative is letting the Yankees get him. After losing A-Rod years ago, I guess they figure they have to outbid them when they can.

[stevew]

I thought the alternative would have been to make fat deals to Zito and/or Schmidt. What's this guy going to be making now? Like 100 million on his first 6 year contract?

[Mr. Wednesday]

He doesn't get the $51 MM -- it goes to Seibu as a transfer fee if he signs. (Although, AFAIK, there's nothing stopping them from kicking some of it too him under the table, and I've seen speculation that might happen if he gets reticent about signing, because they really need the money.)

[spleen1015]

It wouldn't surprise me at all if it was just a ploy by the Red Sox to prevent the Yankees from getting him. They could offer him $1 over 6 year and the guy will go back to Japan next year instead of play here and the Red Sox get their money back.

The Red Sox are crazy.

[stevew]

yeah, 100 million in addition to his 51m transfer fee.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

It wouldn't surprise me at all if it was just a ploy by the Red Sox to prevent the Yankees from getting him. They could offer him $1 over 6 year and the guy will go back to Japan next year instead of play here and the Red Sox get their money back.

The Red Sox are crazy.

I don't think the commish's office is going to let them tubgirl the process like that.

I wouldn't have doubted that the Rangers had the 2nd highest bid either. They are crazy too. The Yankees have not been ones to set the market all too often.

[Mr. Wednesday]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

It wouldn't surprise me at all if it was just a ploy by the Red Sox to prevent the Yankees from getting him. They could offer him $1 over 6 year and the guy will go back to Japan next year instead of play here and the Red Sox get their money back.

I believe the posting agreement allows MLB to step in and open negotation with the second-place club if the Sox don't negotiate in good faith. I'm confident they'll offer a reasonable* contract.


* for a suitable definition of reasonable, I'm sure you or I would consider it reasonable but Boras might disagree.

Originally Posted by stevew

yeah, 100 million in addition to his 51m transfer fee.

With the Sox not bidding against anyone but themselves, it won't be that high. He projects well, but not that well.

[molson]

$51 million may seem insane, but you can't compare the investment in Matsuzaka in dollar for dollar terms with any domestic player. As Gammons pointed out today, this is partially a marketing investment. All of Matsuzaka's games will be televised in Japan, and the Red Sox will become the most prominent MLB brand in Asia.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by molson

$51 million may seem insane, but you can't compare the investment in Matsuzaka in dollar for dollar terms with any domestic player. As Gammons pointed out today, this is partially a marketing investment. All of Matsuzaka's games will be televised in Japan, and the Red Sox will become the most prominent MLB brand in Asia.

Not so sure about that. Will it help? Of course. But I doubt the Red Sox will pass the Mariners or Yanks for being a prominent brand out there. They may not even pass the Dodgers, as they are just too far away and have too little connection to Asia in the past. On top of that, I don't think there's a huge Asian population amongst the Red Sox nation faithful, so it probably won't bring many benefits at home either.

Not to say this won't be beneficial to the Red Sox, but I don't know that it's a lock they will get their investment back, much less make money on it.

[oykib]

It'll be worth a lot to the Sox in terms of revenue from Japan. But they won't pass the Yankees or Mariners.

You wouldn't believe how much the Yanks are all over the place here in Osaka. And Osakans generally hate the Yomiuri (Tokyo) Giants from which Matsui came.

[spleen1015]

Good news...

The Yankess signed Mussina to a 2 year deal. So, they'll go another 2 years without winning the World Series! The curse of Mike Mussina continues!

[lordscarlet]

Man, where's the love? I was expecting that someone would have already posted that the Washington Nationals signed Manny Acta, Mets' third-base coach, as their new manager.

[ctmason]

AP reports Girardi, Leyland are voted Managers of the Year...

http://tinyurl.com/y4e4vz

______________________________________________________________
Fired Girardi named NL's top skipper
Tigers' Leyland wins AL's manager of the year award

NEW YORK (AP) -- Six weeks after he was fired by Florida, Joe Girardi won the NL Manager of the Year award Wednesday for keeping the rookie-laden Marlins in contention nearly all season. Jim Leyland took the AL honor after a quick turnaround with the Detroit Tigers.

A rookie skipper himself, Girardi beat out Willie Randolph of the New York Mets by a comfortable margin to become the first manager to win the award with a losing record.

"It's nice that people who watch the game every day understood what we accomplished," Girardi said, adding he wasn't particularly surprised to win. "We had a lot of good things happen."

Girardi received 18 of 32 first-place votes and totaled 111 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Randolph got eight first-place votes and 81 points.

Leyland turned around the long-moribund Tigers in his first year with the team, leading them to the World Series and their first winning season since 1993. He received 19 of 28 first-place votes and 118 points to top Minnesota's Ron Gardenhire, who was listed first on nine ballots and totaled 93 points.

"I knew that we had something here. I thought it would take longer than it did. This team started believing," Leyland said. "We had good players going into spring training, but we didn't have a very good team. We made ourselves a good team and that's something I'm very proud of."

Playing 22 rookies, Girardi guided the Marlins to a 78-84 finish and had them in the playoff race until late September -- a surprisingly competitive performance for a team that was expected to lose at least 100 games. Florida had a $15 million opening day payroll, the lowest in the major leagues by more than $20 million.

Still, he was fired two days after the season ended following a rift with owner Jeffrey Loria. Girardi has since agreed to rejoin the New York Yankees' broadcast booth, rather than seek another managing job.

"I don't know if vindication is a good word, just because as a manager you want to manage," Girardi said.

"I don't believe in this case perception is reality," he added. "I wanted it to work out but it never got worked out, for whatever reason. ... We move on to bigger and better things."

After the announcement, the Marlins were ready with a statement.

"We are pleased for Joe and we wish him well," the team said.

Girardi, who replaced Randolph as Joe Torre's bench coach with the Yankees in 2005, is the second Manager of the Year to be fired that year. The other was Baltimore's Davey Johnson, the AL winner in 1997.

"To rehash that, I don't think that does anyone any good," Girardi said. "Obviously, I'm not there, and I don't know how they feel about it. A manager wants to manage. I didn't want to leave Florida."

The 61-year-old Leyland, on the other hand, appears firmly entrenched in Motown after winning his third Manager of the Year award -- and first in the AL. He also won with Barry Bonds and the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1990 and '92.

"It's obviously a big thrill for me. These are individual honors but it's a combination of a lot of things," Leyland said. "I really share this award with the entire organization because that's what it really stands for."

Leyland returned to the dugout last season following a six-year hiatus, taking over a foundering Tigers team that went 71-91 in 2005. Two seasons before that, Detroit lost an embarrassing 119 games -- an AL record.

But with a deft touch and demanding approach, the cigarette-puffing Leyland led the surprising Tigers to a terrific start. They struggled mightily down the stretch and squandered the AL Central title, losing out to Gardenhire's Twins on the final day of the regular season.

But Detroit captured the wild card for its first postseason berth in 19 years, then upset the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs before sweeping Oakland in the AL championship series.

Finally, the run ended. Playing in the World Series for the first time since 1984, the Tigers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in five games.

"I could go on and on and on with praise about him," Detroit outfielder Craig Monroe said. "His fun spirit, passion for the game and a straight-shooting style made you want to go the extra mile for him."

Though the Tigers finished behind Minnesota, that didn't prevent Leyland from beating out Gardenhire, a runner-up for this honor three of the past four years.

"It's well-deserved because he did a great job of stepping right in and giving our club the leadership it needed," Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said. "He communicated very well with our players and made good decisions, showing again that he's one of the best managers in the game, if not the best."

Leyland is the third manager to win the award in both leagues, joining four-time winners Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa.

"Anytime you're mentioned in that company you've got to feel awful good about it," Leyland said.

Oakland's Ken Macha came in third and Torre finished fourth.

In the NL, San Diego's Bruce Bochy, now manager of the San Francisco Giants, finished third with five first-place tallies. Los Angeles' Grady Little also got a first-place vote and was fourth.

La Russa became the first manager to win a World Series and not receive a vote. Leyland got just one third-place vote when he led Florida to the 1997 title.

Voting is completed before the postseason and tabulated on a 5-3-1 basis.
________________________________________________________________


Not sure how I feel about the Girardi decision. He certainly did an incredible job, but at the end of the day didn't have a winning record.

That whole case really puzzles me. He manages for a year, by all accounts is a success, is fired (setting the organization back at least 2-3 seasons) and almost immediately rejoins the broadcast booth as if no one was interested in hiring him.

What is wrong with him? Difficult to play for? Difficult to manage him? I confess I just can't figure it out because there was little doubt in my mind he has the skills to build a winner at almost any club.

[Maple Leafs]

Jays apparently will sign Frank Thomas.

No terms yet but my source says it's $23M over two years.

[bbor]

Free-agent designated hitter Frank Thomas is close to agreeing to a two-year contract with the Blue Jays, FOXSports.com has confirmed.

The deal, first reported by ESPN.com, would be worth at least $20 million. It also would include a club option for a third season, according to major-league sources.
Thomas, 38, batted .270 for the A's last season with 39 homers and 114 RBIs. The A's, who had negotiated with him for several weeks, were confident of re-signing him.

The Blue Jays lacked a full-time DH last season; seven different Jays had 40 or more at-bats in that role, led by Shea Hillenbrand, who was traded to the Giants in July.

One question for Thomas with the Jays will be how well his surgically repaired left ankle will hold up on the artificial turf of the SkyDome, which is considered to be among the least forgiving surfaces in the majors.

Thomas appeared in only 108 games with the White Sox during the 2004 and '05 seasons before signing a one-year, $500,000 contract with the A's last season. He earned an additional $2.6 million in incentives.

[SackAttack]

I'm surprised the A's aren't making a push to keep him.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by ctmason

Not sure how I feel about the Girardi decision. He certainly did an incredible job, but at the end of the day didn't have a winning record.

That whole case really puzzles me. He manages for a year, by all accounts is a success, is fired (setting the organization back at least 2-3 seasons) and almost immediately rejoins the broadcast booth as if no one was interested in hiring him.

What is wrong with him? Difficult to play for? Difficult to manage him? I confess I just can't figure it out because there was little doubt in my mind he has the skills to build a winner at almost any club.

The simple answer is that Girardi could not get along with key members of the front office in particular Larry Beinfest, the GM. So the owner had to make a choice between Girardi and Beinfest. Girardi lost. It would be kind of hard for another GM to hire a guy who MAY put that GM's job in jeopardy.