2009 Free Agents Rumors

A few quick notes about the Giants this morning:

• They signed Dallas McPherson to a minor league contact last week reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. 
• Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News laments the Giants decision to sign Edgar Renteria to a two-year, $18M contract instead of going after Orlando Hudson who landed with the rival Dodgers for one-year and $3.4M.

Late last night, we learned that Manny Ramirez and Scott Boras rejected the Dodgers two year, $45M offer.  Since then quite a bit has come out.  Let's take a look.

• Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports that deferred payments were the reason Ramirez rejected the offer.  Ramirez would have only received $10M of his 2009 $25M in 2009 and only $10M of his 2010 $20M player option in 2010.  The remaining $15M would have been paid out over 2011-2013, interest free.  Boras countered with the same annual numbers, but no deferred payments.  This offer was confirmed by an email from Boras to media outlets.
• Tony Jackson of the Los Angeles Daily News thinks that the Dodgers offer was simply so owner Frank McCourt could say that the team made an effort because they knew it would be rejected.
• Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti alleges that deferred payments have been part of the process since the initial one year, $25M offer way back in November.  Colletti also vented some frustration in dealing with Boras: "I have asked Scott many times to tell us where we are at, what we are bidding against, to tell us what we have to meet.  We have yet to be told what the parameters are.''
• Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated notes that Ramirez would accept the Dodgers most recent offer if the money is not deferred.  Since Boras made that exact offer, that's not that surprising.
• The Giants have not ruled out making a late run at Ramirez.  This can not be good news for the Dodgers.
• There are also rumors that the Boras/Ramirez counter-proposal was two years $55M, not $45M. 

Jayson Stark of espn.com has just reported on Sportscenter at 11:45pm that Manny Ramirez and Scott Boras has rejected the Dodgers two year $45M offer.  In speculating about the deal, Stark notes that Ramirez will likely play in 2009 and likely play for the Dodgers simply because there are no other teams out there that have $25M to spend in 2009 and have a need in their outfield.  The speculation continues that Ramirez and Boras feel as if the Dodgers will ultimately be forced to meet their demands because they need Ramirez more than he needs the Dodgers.  A fun game of chicken being played.

Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that the Dodgers have made another two year, $45M offer to Manny Ramirez, but with the money front loaded into the contract.  The deal would pay Ramirez $25M in 2009 and a $20M player option for 2010.  Brown says that Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and general manager Ned Colletti met with Scott Boras earlier in the day to present the offer.  No decision has been made by Ramirez yet, but the offer has reportedly been presented to Ramirez, something that did not happen with pervious offers.

So far the Dodgers have made Ramirez two different offers.  In November, the offer would have paid Ramirez $15M in 2009, $22.5M in 2010 and a club option for $22.5M in 2011 with a $7.5M buyout.  Then, in early January the club presented Ramirez with a one year $25M offer.  Both were rejected.

Jerry Crasnick of espn.com reports that the Braves are interested in signing Ken Griffey Jr. and that Junior reciprocates the interest. Braves general manager Frank Wren confirmed the Braves interest. Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution notes that Atlanta is Griffey's first choice and that Griffey has wanted to play for Braves manager Bobby Cox.

Alyson Footer of mlb.com talked with Astros general manager Ed Wade and has some good rumors.

• The Astros attempted to sign Randy Wolf and Braden Looper at the "eleventh hour" before each signed elsewhere.
• Wolf's offer was a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2010.
• Both Wolf's and Looper's offers were less than $5M.
• No formal offer was ever made to Ivan Rodriguez and they haven't spoken with him in weeks.
• Wade does not think it's likely the team will be making any additional moves before the start of the season.

Let's review all of the baseball rumors on today, Valentine's Day!

• Christian Red of the New York Daily News reports that the Mets have signed Livan Hernandez to a minor league contract worth $1M.
• Lynn Henning of the Detroit News hypothesizes that the Tigers are likely to make a trade before the season starts.
• Jason Isringhausen could return to the Cardinals.
• The Dodgers are not getting very far in negotiations with Will Ohman, Dennys Reyes and Jamey Wright.
• Brian Sabean, Giants general manager, is paying attention to teams looking to unload salary making the Giants a possible trade destination for higher salaried players.
• The Royals are getting creative in an effort to sign Orlando Hudson.
• The Angels have agreed to an extension with Ervin Santana.
• Joe Crede is no longer on the Giants radar. He's expected to sign with the Twins.
• Kevin Towers says that the Padres are not actively talking to any free agent pitcher.

Let's take a spin around the baseball rumors today:

• Tom Glavine is expected to make a decision in the next day or two on whether to accept the Braves offer.  Mark Bowman of mlb.com reports that Glavine was scheduled to meet with Braves general manager Frank Wren today.
• The Yankees will not void Alex Rodriguez's contract because he admitted to steroid use in 2001-2003 while with the Texas Rangers.
• The Royals have not ruled out adding more players via free agency, but Royals general manager Dayton Moore noted that to add players, they'd have to subtract payroll in the process.
• Dan Uggla had his arbitration hearing today.  A decision is expected Thursday or Friday.
• Despite earlier rumors that the Diamondbacks are interested in bringing Juan Cruz back, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic believes that the team is unlikely to bring Cruz back because they would not get a compensation pick unless he signs with another team.
• The Blue Jays signed Kevin Millar.
• Jake Peavy says that he's happy to be staying in San Diego.
• Giants general manager Brian Sabean doesn't envision a scenario where he would trade Jonathan Sanchez.
• Brian Roberts is still trying to work out a long term extension with the Orioles.

Former Yankee and Phillies outfielder Bobby Abreu has reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Angels.  The deal is for one year and $5M plus incentives.  Jerry Crasnick of espn.com says that the incentives could add up to $8M, but the deal will not be official until Abreu passes his physical and the Angels make room for him on their 40 man roster.

Adam Dunn has signed agreed to terms with the Washington Nationals according to Chico Harlan of the Washington Post.  MLB.com's Bill Ladson confirms the deal.  Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated notes that the deal is two years and $20M.  Alex Speier of WEEI gives us an explanation as to why the Red Sox were not in on Dunn or Bobby Abreu (who signed with the Angels).