Kelly will be crushed...
Ohhh... Wrong Manny, never mind...
Posted on 11/06/2009 5:38:45 PM PST by Chet 99
11/06/09 8:24 PM EST
LOS ANGELES -- Outfielder Manny Ramirez notified the Dodgers on Friday that he's exercising his $20 million option and will return to the team for 2010, agent Scott Boras confirmed.
Ramirez in March signed a contract for $25 million guaranteed in 2009 with a player option for '10. Ramirez had until Tuesday to notify the club.
Boras said Ramirez felt that his comfort level playing in Los Angeles was the overriding factor in his decision, although he had told teammates the grind of playing defense every day was taking a toll on his 37-year-old body and he was tempted to explore teams that might be interested in him as a designated hitter.
However, finding anything close to a $20 million salary in an uncertain economic climate, combined with the baggage of his 50-game PED suspension this year, made free agency an unattractive proposition for Ramirez, who hit .290 with 19 homers and 63 RBIs in 104 games this season.
Boras said arranging more rest for Ramirez would be worked out between the player and manager Joe Torre. Juan Pierre hit .308 with 30 steals in 145 games as Ramirez's primary sub. Pierre is signed for another two seasons.
Meanwhile, five more Dodgers filed for free agency on Friday -- catcher Brad Ausmus; pitchers Vicente Padilla, Guillermo Mota and Jeff Weaver; and pinch-hitter Jim Thome.
The Dodgers have interest in retaining Padilla and Weaver, and likely would have interest in the 40-year-old Ausmus if he does not retire.
Padilla went 4-0 with a 3.20 ERA for the Dodgers after being released by the Rangers, then delivered two clutch postseason starts before getting hit hard in the Dodgers' elimination game in the National League Championship Series.
Padilla also suffered a minor gunshot wound earlier this week in a shooting range accident, but is expected to be healthy for Spring Training. He is looking for a multi-year contract, something the Dodgers have shied away from for free-agent pitchers in recent years.
Weaver resurrected his career after spending all of 2008 in the Minor Leagues. He went 6-4 with a 3.65 ERA as a swingman, making seven starts and pitching 79 innings.
Ausmus played in only 36 games as backup to Russell Martin, but he hit a career-high .295.
Mota went 3-4 with a 3.44 ERA in 61 appearances and had a 29-game stretch in which he allowed only one earned run, but fell out of favor in August and spent the rest of the season on the disabled list with an ingrown toenail.
Thome was acquired at the Aug. 31 postseason Trade Deadline and cost the Dodgers $1 million in salary. Limited to only pinch-hitting because of health reasons, he was 1-for-3 in the postseason. He has said he wants to return to the American League to be a designated hitter.
The five Dodgers filing for free agency Friday joined six that filed on Thursday -- pitchers Randy Wolf, Jon Garland and Eric Milton; All-Star second baseman Orlando Hudson; and fellow infielders Ronnie Belliard and Doug Mientkiewicz.
Dodgers still eligible to file for free agency are shortstop Juan Castro, infielder Mark Loretta, left-hander Will Ohman and right-hander Jason Schmidt. Schmidt is expected to retire.
yu-awwwwwn.
good
Smart move for Manny.
For the Dodgers....maybe not.
ashmurderer wrote: The Dodgers erred in giving Manny an option on year two, but that is water under the bridge. I hope someone is giving them decent legal advice. The fact is that the Dodgers were induced to enter into the contract by Manny's fraud in not disclosing that his performance was enhanced by steroids and that if he did not have access to steroids, his performance would be poorer. Any second year law student could make the case that the contract should be voided. I love Manny but he simply is not worth $20 million and the reason is likely that he can no longer enhance his performance. The Dodgers need to sit Scott Boras down and tell him they are going to litigate/arbitrate the issue to the eyeballs and Manny will simply become a pariah a la Barry Bonds for the remainder of his career. OR he can agree to a far lesser amount more in keeping with his real current unjuiced value, which is not insignificant, say $8 million. This is a case for Marshall Grossman, the superb litigator handling Frank Mc C's divorce.
Manny Ramirez is a big fake and he has been since the first time he started cheating with steroids. This is $20 million down the drain. Remember how he used to stand and stare at his home runs as everyone watched in amazement. There won’t be too many more of those. What a jerk. The McCourts are going to take the Dodgers down into the toilet anyway. It looks like another lost decade for the boys in blue. Go Angels.
I wish the O’Malleys would buy that team back and clean house. Ramirez would probably end up spending half the season on the bench, nursing some fake injury.
I believe that there would be a challenge against Manny’s contract, except for the fact that McCourts have their hands completely full in a very ugly divorce right now.
I just don’t want him coming east
Ramirez will probably end up spending half the season on the bench, nursing some fake injury.
Who cares? Without his ‘roids he was a non-factor in he playoffs. Pathetic.
Kelly will be crushed...
Ohhh... Wrong Manny, never mind...
Yeah, I can see how playing a non-contact sport for 3 hours a day can be so rough on a person's body. If Manny had signed with an American League team as a DH, he'd probably complain about how sitting in the dugout between at bats was taking a toll on his body. It's a good thing Manny doesn't have to actually work for a living.
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