BoSox and Manny

The never ending trade rumors.

From ESPN Insider:
Manny Ramirez's contract has been the 160-ton weight hanging around the necks of the Red Sox for six years, and Boston executives have repeatedly tried to do his bidding and unload the slugger, despite the fact that he drives in 130 runs a year. The Red Sox have tried to waive him, trade him, swap him, sell him, everything.
Gordon Edes reported in September that Ramirez once again asked to be traded, and early in the offseason, Red Sox executives felt there was little chance of that happening, because of the remaining financial weight of the contract (two years, about $40 million) and because of how Manny sometimes conducts himself (Phillies GM Pat Gillick used the word "distraction").

But it's as if a volcano loaded to the dome with cash has erupted, money is flowing all over the place, and the baseball landscape is changing by the hour, and if you're a 38-year-old slugger like Frank Thomas, with bad wheels and a horrendous injury history, you can get a deal in which you can make north of $30 million. And in this new world, Manny Ramirez is suddenly a relative bargain. I wonder if the Red Sox might finally find themselves in a climate in which they can trade Ramirez.

Imagine if you are the Cubs, or the Mets, or the Astros, and you are looking for offensive help. You will bid heavily on Alfonso Soriano or Carlos Lee, and either may cost you somewhere in the range of $80 million to $120 million.

Say that price scares you. Say that six- or seven-year commitment scares you. And say that you are desperate to add an impact-type bat.

Do you go with Soriano at seven years, at $120 million?

Or do you look at an alternative who is much cheaper and yet somehow more accomplished: Ramirez, who might cost you a couple of prospects and $42 million over three years. Ramirez, who has driven in 100 or more runs in 11 of the last 12 seasons.

"A no-brainer," an American League executive said yesterday. "Manny looks much better in this market."

We say three years and $42 million because in the end, Ramirez, who has a full no-trade clause in his contract, will probably want a year added to the end of his current deal to make this happen. And the Red Sox will probably eat some of his salary -- but not nearly as much as would have been required to make a trade happen even two months ago.

 

Manny Ramirez
Red Sox Rangers? Rangers, Red Sox discussing Manny
Nov 17 - The Red Sox are talking to the Rangers about a possible deal for Manny Ramirez, ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney reports. Texas is looking for a bat to help bolster its lineup, in an offseason in which they might lose Carlos Lee, Mark DeRosa and Gary Matthews Jr.

 

sox need shortstop now that Gonzalez is gone. Michael Young straight up and pursue a free agent power hitting outfielder.

 

I doubt they're seriously interested in trading Manny, they just have to make inquiries because of his request.

 

it's getting near that time. what's he have, a couple years left?

 

True, that's a fair point, but all these articles keep making the point that Manny is actually a good deal compared to most of the contracts being thrown around now. I don't doubt that Boston would move him if some team got stupid and offered them a younger but nearly equal player, but I just don't see that happening. Even with all his headaches, Manny is too important to the lineup to give away for parts.

 

what a sad state of affairs. $20 million a year is a bargain for a guy with a poor attitude and pedestrian defensive capabilities. thankfully, this is a team with a lot of young players who will be coming into their own when his contract expires.

 

Ted Williams would be making way more than 20 mill.

 

albert pujols makes around $14 million.

 

I agree, but that's the state of things. The Pujols extension happened during a brief period of relative sanity, but now we see a guy with a poor attitude, pedestrian defensive capabilities, and a shitty OBP getting $17 million a year.