Manny placed on waivers: Any team claiming slugger would have to absorb salary
Just two days after dumping their manager, the Red Sox [stats, schedule] last night tried to reshape their team even more drastically.
Now they're trying to rid themselves of superstar Manny Ramirez.
In a bold and shocking move designed to restructure their top-heavy payroll, the Red Sox placed Ramirez and his hefty contract on irrevocable waivers.
The move is not guaranteed to work, but the Red Sox would be ecstatic if another team - and this probably includes only the moneybag Yankees - decides before tomorrow night at midnight to pick up the remaining $100 million-plus remaining in Ramirez' massive contract, which runs for another five seasons and includes two options for 2009 and 2010.
If no team bites, Ramirez, 30, will remain a Red Sox, but the club will no longer be able to privately conceal its extreme reluctance to devote so much of its $100 million payroll to a ballplayer who it feels is gifted in one area - hitting a baseball about as well as anyone can - and about nowhere else.
The Red Sox grew fed up with Ramirez' defense and his man-child moments of inattention and immaturity this season, and the team clearly is positioning itself for greater payroll flexibility this winter, as it faces several critical decisions on players signed through next season only. Long-term contract decisions on Pedro Martinez [stats, news], Nomar Garciaparra [stats, news], Jason Varitek [stats, news], Derek Lowe [stats, news] and Trot Nixon [stats, news], for starters, await and with Ramirez acting as a drag on the club's checkbook, the club obviously values payroll flexibility above Ramirez' ability to consistently and reliably hit about 35 to 40 home runs with 100-plus RBI.
Ramirez batted .325 last season, finishing one point behind teammate Bill Mueller [stats, news] for the batting title, and belted 37 homers with 104 RBI.
About the only team capable of swallowing such a deal is the Yankees, whose brain trust last night had already gathered in Tampa, Fla., so that owner George Steinbrenner could help them absorb their six-game loss to the Marlins in the World Series.
This move will put immediate and obvious pressure on the Yankees to decide if Ramirez, who grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan, would be worth the risk. Ramirez has expressed his admiration for the Yankees before. The Yankees have an obvious hole to fill in their lineup and in right field, and for many reasons, Ramirez fits their needs, especially since their offense was found to be so lacking in the Fall Classic.
Steinbrenner is a difficult employer to predict. His, or the Yankees', decision on whether or not to pick up Ramirez will be fascinating.
Irrevocable waivers mean the club cannot pull the player back if another claims him. Players are sometimes placed on revocable waivers in order to gauge trade interest. If a team claims him, the waiving team can pull him back.
The reverberations of this move will be felt throughout baseball, as the Red Sox are signaling that they have lost all patience with Ramirez and need to make the most dramatic, if not the most obvious, move they can to increase their ability to wheel and deal this winter.
If the Red Sox are able to unload Ramirez on the Yankees or some other suddenly flush-feeling team, they will have that much more ability to go out and get another starting pitcher, another quality reliever or two and strengthen their defense as well.
If the Red Sox cannot unload Ramirez, they could still try to trade him and be forced to swallow a great deal of the remaining contract, an option the club would not be thrilled about. That is why they went yesterday's route, trying to cut their ties with Ramirez completely and swiftly.
If they still cannot trade Ramirez, the 2004 spring training promises to be more entertaining than usual as Ramirez reports to a ballclub that has sent a none-too-subtle message that he no longer is wanted.
Ramirez lost much of the confidence of the front office after his get-together with the Yankees' Enrique Wilson at the Ritz in late August, when Ramirez was supposed to be recuperating from pharyngitis. Ramirez missed his doctor's appointment the next morning and when the club played a tight ballgame in Philadelphia shortly after and Ramirez said he could not pinch hit, that set in motion his unofficial benching by then-manager Grady Little.
Ramirez, signed by former general manager Dan Duquette in December of 2000, is due $20.5 million in 2004, $20 million in 2005, $19 million in 2006, $18 million in 2007, $20 million in 2008. He will also make $4 million a year in deferred, no-interest salary between this coming season and 2010, plus he has $10 million remaining from his $16 million signing bonus still coming.
He made a $100,000 bonus yesterday for being named a Silver Slugger.
His club options for 2009 and 2010 are each worth $20 million.
Just two days after dumping their manager, the Red Sox [stats, schedule] last night tried to reshape their team even more drastically.
Now they're trying to rid themselves of superstar Manny Ramirez.
In a bold and shocking move designed to restructure their top-heavy payroll, the Red Sox placed Ramirez and his hefty contract on irrevocable waivers.
The move is not guaranteed to work, but the Red Sox would be ecstatic if another team - and this probably includes only the moneybag Yankees - decides before tomorrow night at midnight to pick up the remaining $100 million-plus remaining in Ramirez' massive contract, which runs for another five seasons and includes two options for 2009 and 2010.
If no team bites, Ramirez, 30, will remain a Red Sox, but the club will no longer be able to privately conceal its extreme reluctance to devote so much of its $100 million payroll to a ballplayer who it feels is gifted in one area - hitting a baseball about as well as anyone can - and about nowhere else.
The Red Sox grew fed up with Ramirez' defense and his man-child moments of inattention and immaturity this season, and the team clearly is positioning itself for greater payroll flexibility this winter, as it faces several critical decisions on players signed through next season only. Long-term contract decisions on Pedro Martinez [stats, news], Nomar Garciaparra [stats, news], Jason Varitek [stats, news], Derek Lowe [stats, news] and Trot Nixon [stats, news], for starters, await and with Ramirez acting as a drag on the club's checkbook, the club obviously values payroll flexibility above Ramirez' ability to consistently and reliably hit about 35 to 40 home runs with 100-plus RBI.
Ramirez batted .325 last season, finishing one point behind teammate Bill Mueller [stats, news] for the batting title, and belted 37 homers with 104 RBI.
About the only team capable of swallowing such a deal is the Yankees, whose brain trust last night had already gathered in Tampa, Fla., so that owner George Steinbrenner could help them absorb their six-game loss to the Marlins in the World Series.
This move will put immediate and obvious pressure on the Yankees to decide if Ramirez, who grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan, would be worth the risk. Ramirez has expressed his admiration for the Yankees before. The Yankees have an obvious hole to fill in their lineup and in right field, and for many reasons, Ramirez fits their needs, especially since their offense was found to be so lacking in the Fall Classic.
Steinbrenner is a difficult employer to predict. His, or the Yankees', decision on whether or not to pick up Ramirez will be fascinating.
Irrevocable waivers mean the club cannot pull the player back if another claims him. Players are sometimes placed on revocable waivers in order to gauge trade interest. If a team claims him, the waiving team can pull him back.
The reverberations of this move will be felt throughout baseball, as the Red Sox are signaling that they have lost all patience with Ramirez and need to make the most dramatic, if not the most obvious, move they can to increase their ability to wheel and deal this winter.
If the Red Sox are able to unload Ramirez on the Yankees or some other suddenly flush-feeling team, they will have that much more ability to go out and get another starting pitcher, another quality reliever or two and strengthen their defense as well.
If the Red Sox cannot unload Ramirez, they could still try to trade him and be forced to swallow a great deal of the remaining contract, an option the club would not be thrilled about. That is why they went yesterday's route, trying to cut their ties with Ramirez completely and swiftly.
If they still cannot trade Ramirez, the 2004 spring training promises to be more entertaining than usual as Ramirez reports to a ballclub that has sent a none-too-subtle message that he no longer is wanted.
Ramirez lost much of the confidence of the front office after his get-together with the Yankees' Enrique Wilson at the Ritz in late August, when Ramirez was supposed to be recuperating from pharyngitis. Ramirez missed his doctor's appointment the next morning and when the club played a tight ballgame in Philadelphia shortly after and Ramirez said he could not pinch hit, that set in motion his unofficial benching by then-manager Grady Little.
Ramirez, signed by former general manager Dan Duquette in December of 2000, is due $20.5 million in 2004, $20 million in 2005, $19 million in 2006, $18 million in 2007, $20 million in 2008. He will also make $4 million a year in deferred, no-interest salary between this coming season and 2010, plus he has $10 million remaining from his $16 million signing bonus still coming.
He made a $100,000 bonus yesterday for being named a Silver Slugger.
His club options for 2009 and 2010 are each worth $20 million.
