Rumors for August, 2010
Johnny Damon stay in Detroit depends on his playing time
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Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe says Johnny Damon is still leaning towards staying with the Detroit Tigers, but…
“The one way he could wind up in Boston is if in the next few hours Damon will ask Tiger management for an honest answer on his playing time the rest of the way. If the Tigers decide to go with younger players the rest of the way Damon said he would be inclined to come back to Boston.”
Damon expects to have a “a few conversations” with Tigers’ management and manager Jim Leyland this afternoon.
“I think we’re still in this,” Damon said of the Tigers. “But I’ve got to know whether they’re going to keep playing me or whether they’re going to go with the younger guys. If I’m not going to play as much, the decision is a no-brainer.”
Damon ha been contacted by former teammates David Ortiz and Jason Varitek with the intent to recruit him back to Boston.
“Papi is very excited,” said Damon. “He thinks I could make quite a difference. I love those guys. They know that. But I’m trying to make the best decision for myself and my family.”
New York Mets will not pursue Cliff Lee this winter
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According to sources close to ESPNNewYork.com, the Mets will not make a run at free-agent-to-be Cliff Lee. The Mets will be in financial trouble through 2011, and adding another high priced pitcher such as Lee would be close to impossible.
Lee is currently making $9 million from a club option this season. It’s believed that he’s looking for a deal similar to the one C.C. Sabathia signed with the New York Yankees – 7-years for $161 million.
Earlier this month, new Texas Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg said his team will make a serious run at keeping Lee. The Rangers have one of the lowest payrolls in the majors this season at around $55 million.
Jose Bautista denies use of performance enhancing drugs
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8/24 12:22: Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus says on his personal blog that Bautista has been drug tested at least twice this season and as many as ten times.
8/24 12:06: The mysterious surge of power has led to rumors regarding Major League leading home run hitter Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays taking steroids, but the 29-year-old outfielder denies being involved with performance enhancing substances.
“Nobody’s said anything to me, and I don’t see why they should,” Bautista said, according to Robert MacLeod of The Globe and Mail. “Baseball has a strict policy against those performance-enhancing whatever you want to call them.”
He added that there’s nothing more behind his dramatic power surge.
“It’s not a secret and I didn’t reinvent the wheel,” Bautista said. “I keep saying it because it’s the truth. It’s as simple as getting [his swing] started earlier, and I’ve got Cito and [hitting coach] Dwayne Murphy to thank for that. They kind of brought it to my attention and they worked with me extensively and it’s sort of the renaissance of my hitting. I owe it to them because without them it wouldn’t have been possible.”
Bautista is leading the Majors with 40 home runs.
Is Johnny Damon negotiating his trade to the Red Sox through the media?
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Over the last 24 hours we’ve heard Johnny Damon’s reluctance to go back to his old team and make an attempt to win a championship.
“My teammates are making decision easier by saying they want me to stay,” Damon said yesterday. “There’s a reason you put clauses in your contract – this one (Sox not on list of 8 to which he’d agree to be traded) is a huge one. If they want me to stay, teammates normally win. My heart tells me I’m a Tiger. That’s kind of where I’m leaning.”
I firmly believe that Damon is trying to create leverage for himself through the media in order to get additional compensation to waive his no-trade clause. Why do I say this?
- His heart may be a Tiger, but for another million dollars, his heart could change its mind.
- Another playoff run would add to his Hall of Fame chances, and the Tigers are not going anywhere this October.
- He’s familiar with Boston, so two months back in a city that he’s familiar in shouldn’t bother him.
- He’s a free agent after the season. A good run with a playoff-caliber team could showcase him for future employers.
- He’ll have the chance to spoil the New York Yankees’ chance at repeating as World Series champs.
Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated said that Billy Wagner, last year “initially balked” at accepting a waiver claim to the Red Sox last year before arrangements were made. It seems like Damon is trying to do the same thing.
Damon currently has a no-trade clause that prevents him from being traded to the Red Sox, so compensation could be made in order for Damon to waive the stipulation.
Chicago White Sox to claim Manny Ramirez
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According to a Major League source close to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez will not clear waivers. The Chicago White Sox will claim him with the intention of acquiring him.
The Dodgers have not placed Ramirez on waivers, but the move is expected as early as Tuesday.
Per Major League waiver rules, National League teams will get the first shot at claiming Ramirez. However, Rosenthal says none are expected to do so. The Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers are interested in Ramirez, but the White Sox would have priority over them.
Ramirez is owned approximately $4.25 million for the rest of the season, with most of it deferred. He would need to waive his no-trade clause to go to the White Sox, but it would be in his best interest to do so, since he would have the opportunity to showcase his hitting skills as a designated hitter in the American League without having to deal with the liability of playing the outfield.
Commissioner’s office backing Frank McCourt for Dodger ownership
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8/24 06:25: When the McCourt “money trial” gets under way on the 30th of this month, Frank is going to have some backers in his corner who many people might have thought were not going to get involved. According to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times, Bud Selig and the commissioner’s office will send their top lawyer, Thomas Ostertag to provide evidence that in the league’s eyes and the other owner’s eyes, Frank is the sole owner of the team. Ostertag will come equipped with documents from when the Dodgers were purchased to prove his comments as well.
8/20 13:24: Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times says the trial to determine ownership of the Dodgers is set to start August 30, with Frank McCourt claiming the Dodgers are his alone and Jamie arguing she owns half of the team.
8/19 13:16: In court documents obtained by TMZ, former Los Angeles Dodgers CEO Jamie McCourt claims Frank McCourt and his lawyer fraudulently altered documents in an effort to strip her of the ownership of the team.
Frank claims in 2004 that Jamie signed over complete ownership of the team to him. However, in new papers filed today by Dennis Wasser, Jamie’s lawer, there was another “Exhibit” that was the final word on the ownership of the Dodgers – preserving Jamie’s right to the team.
According to the TMZ Staff:
Wasser now says, after the document was signed, Frank and his lawyer pulled a switcheroo, by substituting the old “Exhibit” for the new one — thereby cutting Jamie out.
Wasser says in his new legal docs … Jamie is the victim of a “fraudulently altered document.”
You can see the documents here.
The McCourts have been in a bitter divorce since last year. Both are fighting for an estimated $1.29 billion of assets that includes the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise. Many believe that because of the divorce it has caused the team to not sign or trade for players that would improve on-field performance.
Chicago Cubs could target Joe Girardi for their next manager
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With the managerial vacancy in Chicago and the expiring Yankees’ contract of Chicago native and former Cubs’ catcher Joe Girardi, it seems like a perfect match. George A. King III of The New York Post suggests the Cubs could ask Girardi to manage the team next year.
“It will be something I have to deal with but my focus is here,’’ Girardi said on Monday. “The big thing is that you don’t want it to become a distraction. It’s not fair, this organization has been great to me.’’
Girardi is in the final season of a three-year, $7.5 million deal with New York, and since he already has one World Series title under his belt, he’s due for a raise.
King says all signs are pointing to the Yankees wanting Girardi back.
“My focus is here, I have a responsibility to the organization and the guys in the clubhouse,’’ Girardi said. “As a player, when I was a free agent, I never worried about where I would be. As a manager I am never worried about where I am going to be. The one thing I can control is getting the players to play the best they can every day. I am very happy here, a great working relationship with everybody.’’
Steve Rosenbloom of the The Chicago Tribune said on Sunday,
“So, the more the Cubs do nothing, the more you come up with only two possible reasons: One, they are waiting for Joe Girardi to skip New York after this season, or two, they are the Cubs and this is what they do.”
Other candidates for the Cubs’ job are Ryne Sanberg, Joe Torre, Tony La Russa, Bobby Valentine, Alan Trammell and interim manager Mike Quade. Last month we profiled a few of these candidates.
8/23 22:14: Damon said the possibility of playing again for the Red Sox intrigued him, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.
“Obviously they claimed me to go out there and play left field and lead off for them. They have a lot of big games with Tampa Bay coming up. They have six more games with New York coming up. That’s why they’re trying,” Damon told reporters. “What a scene that would be, playing for the Red Sox while the Yankees go there, and everybody there hates me. That’s the craziness that’s involved. I’m just going to try not to think about it tonight.”
8/23 19:48: “My teammates are making decision easier by saying they want me to stay,” Damon said, according to the Detroit News’ Tom Gage. “There’s a reason you put clauses in your contract – this one (Sox not on list of 8 to which he’d agree to be traded) is a huge one. If they want me to stay, teammates normally win. My heart tells me I’m a Tiger. That’s kind of where I’m leaning.”
8/23 19:37: Damon said postgame that he’s leaning towards staying with the Tigers, according to MLB.com’s Jason Beck.
Damon said, “My gut and everything else tells me Detroit’s the place for me.”
8/23 14:20: MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets, “Damon confirms #Tigers have told him #RedSox claimed him. He has about 48 hrs to decide whether to accept. Not sure what he’ll do yet.”
“It’s probably as tough of a decision for me to take right now as it was for me to leave Boston for New York,” Damon said Monday at Comerica Park. “It’s something that fortunately we have some time to think about it.”
“At this moment, I’m not sure I want to leave Detroit for that,” Damon adds. “I enjoy playing here. I enjoy the kids I’m playing for, the coaching staff. But obviously [Red Sox manager] Terry Francona is amazing. But it’s something that I’m going to have think long and hard over.”
“I had a great time playing there,” Damon said. “But I think once it was apparent that I wasn’t a necessity to re-sign there, it started to get ugly. And that’s why I’ve got to think long and hard. I have to think if they do have a strong chance to make the playoffs with the guys beat up there. I have to think long and hard if I’m going to once again be probably one of the nicest guys in baseball, but be once again the most hated guy in baseball. That’s what it boils down. You guys see how I get booed in every ballpark already.”
8/23 13:21: Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated adds that Damon has eight teams that he can be assigned. The Red Sox are not one of them.
Ed Price of AOL FanHouse adds, “Damon can block and told me he’s not inclined to go back to Boston”
8/23 12:50: According to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated, the Boston Red Sox have claimed Damon. The teams can now attempt to work out a deal.
8/23 11:35: Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated tweets, “i believe the #tigers would let damon go at this point if no trade can be worked out.”
8/23 11:04: According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports, Johnny Damon of the Detroit Tigers was claimed off trade waivers. However, Rosenthal does not know what team claimed the outfielder.
According to Major League Baseball’s waiver rules, the teams now have 48 hours from the time the claim was made to negotiate a trade. Otherwise, the Tigers can revoke Damon from waivers or give him away to the team for no compensation.
When asked last week about the possibility of being traded:
“I’m not too concerned about it,” Damon said (via Jason Beck of MLB.com). “I kind of knew it possibly would happen, but that doesn’t mean something will. I know Detroit likes me. I know they would probably like to keep me, but if this is a way they can possibly save a little bit of money this year and get a prospect, then that’s something they have to do.
Yesterday, Damon said that should he be traded this year, he would like to return to Detroit for next season.
“I could still come back here next season,” Damon said.
If traded, Damon said he would tell his representatives to call Tigers president Dave Dombrowski and owner Mike Ilitch about returning.
Damon signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Tigers before this season began. He’s currently hitting .271 with seven home runs and 39 RBIs.
Colorado Rockies LHP Randy Flores cleared waivers
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The Denver Posts’ Troy E. Renck says on Twitter that left-handed pitcher Randy Flores has cleared waivers.
Flores was designated for assignment last week.
“I have nothing but great things to say about this bullpen. I hope they have a strong finish,” said Flores, who was surprised by the roster move. “As for my feelings, they are irrelevant.”
He’ll likely get picked up if the Rockies make him a free agent. In 47 games this season, Flores was 2-0 with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.280 WHIP.
Manny Ramirez to be placed on waivers this week
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to sources close to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark, the Los Angeles Dodgers could put Manny Ramirez on waivers this week. Monday would have been the first day the Dodgers could have done this, but decided not to do so.
Baseball sources says that unless Ramirez exercises his no-trade clause, he will be with another team by August 31.
Any team interested would have to pay the pro-rated portion of his $20 million salary. Olney points out that 75% of his salary is deferred, so any team would owe him $1.1 million for the rest of the season with $3.3 million of his salary deferred.
Ramirez will be a free agent after the season, and many say that he would be better off playing an American League DH so that he can showcase his hitting skills without having to deal with the liability of his injuries in the outfield.
In 62 games this year, Ramirez is hitting .312/.404/.508 with 8 home runs and 39 RBIs.
