On this day in 2009, the Dodgers agreed to re-sign Manny Ramirez to a two-year, $45MM contract. Ramirez's time in Los Angeles came to an end in August of 2010 when he was claimed off of waivers by the White Sox. As a Dodger, the slugger hit .322/.433/.580 with 44 homers in 223 games. Here's a look at some items out of the AL and NL West..
- Yoenis Cespedes was warmly welcomed by Manny, writes Yahoo's Steve Henson. Ramirez discussed hitting extensively with his new friend, and ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that Cespedes says it's an "honor" to play with Ramirez. (Twitter link).
- There was a belief around baseball that Matt Cain was going to be an easy sign for the Giants, but that now seems less certain, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Word was that the hurler might even be prepared to sign back with the Giants for less than $100MM but that seems far less likely.
- If the league upholds Jairo Beras' contract with the Rangers, sources with several teams have said that they will be furious, writes Ben Badler of Baseball America. MLB has granted some players leniency in the past if they willingly came forward with a new age or a new identity, but that does not appear to be the case in this situation.
- Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels says that multiple teams have inquired on David Murphy, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Even though Murphy is slated to come off of the bench, Daniels says that the outfielder is a huge part of the club. The Twins inquired on Murphy back in December but Texas was unwilling to compromise their outfield depth.
- Angel Villalona's name plate has been removed from his locker and that's a sign that his visa issue isn't close to being resolved, tweets Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com. The Giants first baseman is facing legal trouble in his native Dominican Republic.
- The Athletics formally introduced Cespedes today and the outfielder said that Miguel Tejada told him that Oakland was a good organization to grow up in, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
If Beras is really 17 then it doesn’t matter how many clubs are furious. There would be no legitimate reason to void the contract.
he said he was 16 before, and therefore lied about his age because he submitted falsified documents. that tends to be grounds to void contracts and suspend players
Except lying about your original age in the first place…
It’s because he lied about his age, saying he was 16, which is grounds for a contract being void and his signing eligibility being suspended
except for the whole lying about his age thing.
it’s because he lied about his age, no matter how you look at it.
either he lied about being 16 before, or he’s lying right now about being 17
You can’t be serious.
The Rangers can’t affort to trade away depth. Their bench is one of the only weak spots on the team. They could stand to bloster both their bench and their bullpen.
There are several young players who might help do that during the course of the season. Olt, Perez, Remeriz could all help fill those roles soon.
Perez and Ramirez are both pitchers. Outside of the Mike “Humble” Olt, there are hardly any position players who can actually contribute league-average production at the big league level. Especially in the outfield, where Hamilton and Cruz hit the DL every year. That’s why Murphy is so important. Gentry is a defense-first guy, Leonys needs to get consistent ABs in the minors, and Borbon is awful.
I wonder how much Tejada paid Cespedes to push that.
Tejada was already grown up by the time he got to Oakland. How old is he again?
Tejada was 23 (using his actual, birth certificate age, not his proclaimed one), when he debuted in oakland in 1997
Cespedes is currently 26.
I don’t even think the Giants were even thinking of signing Cain for less than $100 Million that was more wishful thinking by fans and the media underestimating their payroll capabilities.
cespedes is aware that manny isn’t a dude to look up to, right?
You’re aware that as a young right-handed hitter, Manny’s knowledge of hitting is probably some of the most helpful advice you could ever receive, right?
Because there are so, so many guys in baseball who have career OBPs over .400, 500+ HR, career SLG% over .550, 2000 hits, and 18+ year careers.
Nobody would doubt the guy is one of the better hitters in the game.. period. But looking up to Ramirez as a hitter/teacher would be paramount to looking up to Bonds and mcguire.. Now why the cardinals hired one of those aforementioned names, as a hitting instructor no less, still baffles me.
He has the highest OPS for any right handed hitting outfielder in MLB history. I think he might know a little about offense.
I he’s talking about his off-field issues and the Manny being Manny schtick. If you’re talking about his offensive prowess than you need to evaluate how you determine great offensive players.
Yoenis being Yoenis .
Yoenis being Manny.
Manny being Yoenis.
Manny. Yoenis. Manny. Yoenis. Mannyoenis. Manyoenis. Mayoenis. Mayonis.
Mayonnaise?
This adds nothing to the debate and is apropo of nothing but I like David Murphy.
David Murphy might be the best 4th outfielder in the game
I’m sure Tejada did like growing up in the Oakland organization. It’s where he got his Pre Med in Pharmaceuticals.
Very original.