In his latest Rumblings & Grumblings column, for ESPN.com, Jayson Stark quotes a source familiar 
with the Mets thinking as saying, ‘signing Manny Ramirez is not going to happen.’
Stark says the Yankees have made it clear they will not be bidding on Ramirez either, and, according to a person familiar with their thinking, the Angels position to not pursue Ramirez is ‘etched in stone.’
Meanwhile, the Giants are only interested in Ramirez on a short-term deal, and talks with the Dodgers are in the same place they were in October, according to Stark.
In the end, Stark believes Ramirez may not sign a new deal until mid-March, allowing him to skip the majority of spring training.
By the way, Stark also believes Adam Dunn would prefer to play for the Dodgers, and so he may wait until Ramirez signs before choosing a new team.
Stark also writes about Ryan Howard’s arbitration case; five Winter League players worth noting; Jake Peavy, the Padres and Cubs, all of whom may resume talks during spring training; and Matt Holliday, who, according to a recent study, gets better on the road with every game he plays.
{ 79 comments }
Grrrrrrrrr, Sign Manny!!!!
Isn’t this the same Jayson Stark who proclaimed Boston acquiring Johan Santana? Never say never, my friend!
I’ll believe it when he signs somewhere else. until then, it’s a possibility.
Thank you Stark for clearing that up now go back to Philly you turd.
no one will sign Manny for more than 2 years…
When Boras realizes that, the Mets need to make him an offer…something like 1/20 guaranteed with an option and incentives…
The Yankees can’t sign Manny anyway. They have reached the limit of Type A free agents that they can sign this offseason. The Yankees have been out of the running for Manny since the day Mark Teixeira put the ink to his contract.
Not true, this year there is an exeption, a team can sign up to 8 type A/B free agents who played on a different team last year.
Ugh! Now you are telling me I have to hear the sign Manny nonsense on this blog until March! Please just sign with the Dodgers and get it over with.
kalihan,
why u want him in the dodgers and no here?
and if so who u want the ,ets to bring in..?
Matt, what’s been going on with the comments section? Why have they not been posting in the order they are posted?
Long time reader, first time poster here. I wish just as much as most of you that we could sign Manny, but we all know its not going to happen. I also agree w/ the thought that we need a change in the lineup, and our LF situation isnt exactly ideal (Tatis having nowhere to go but down, and Murphy unproven). So, what are everyone’s thoughts on possibly signing Garret Anderson. I know he hit about .295 last year and drove in close to 90. He’d prolly come cheaper than most, and even though he’s lefty, might fill in the lineup well. Thoughts?
He’s a lefty your right. But aging w/ bad defensive skills and would demand 10+ million b/c of his vetern status. In that case go after Dunn. If all else fails see for a trade for Dye, Byrnes or even maybe Abreu.
I actually thought Dunn would be a good possibility. High OBP, good HR and RBI totals. He strikes out a lot, but makes it up in walks. I dont see why Omar cant get it done with any of these FA outfielders.
Yeah, I’m certianly not suggesting it for obvious reasons, but Reds manager(not Dusty Baker) but the one before that who’s name escapes me actually batted him lead-off for a couple months considering the walk and OBP numbers along with runs score which usually come after the previous 2. lol and even more so with a line-up with the Mets 3-4 100 RBI threats.
think of this lineup
Reyes
Dunn
Wright
Beltran
Delgado
Church
Schneider
Castillo
or
Reyes
Castillo
Wright
Beltran
Delgado
Dunn
Church
Schneider
not bad at all
No Garrett Anderson!!!! Speaking of nowhere to go but down!
If its on a one or two year deal it could work. Andersons hit nearly .300 for his entire career. Think about it, if the Mets could get it done on a one year deal, who would you take, Tatis/Murphy or Anderson. Remember, the Mets had the 4th lowest (or something close) run production out of their corner outfielders last year in MLB.
well Varitek is on the verge of signing a 2 year deal with the sox. i guess that’s some news.
LMAO,
YO. i can’t help to laugh when i see ur name.. how can i really read anything u write if i’m laughing..
when has Jayson Stark been right?
Sheets Perez and Dunn. 25 million and done!
if they wont spend the money on Manny they wont spend it on that
its most likely going to be Ollie and Pedro and thats it for the MLB roster…
The same lousy team. Ugh.
same team, same roster, same choke…
correct on all accounts!
Thats because you can get 350 innings and the same HR and RBI production combined for the same price.
Don’t get me wrong Dunn is no Manny. But for 1/4 the price of him, why not?
After carefully looking at the payroll today, I don’t see how signing anyone other than Oliver Perez happens. So, this is it. Sign Perez and go to spring training.
Redding/Garcia/Niese is better than Pedro/Figgy/Vargas/Stokes/Niese/Knight/Armas.
The Pen is obviously upgraded.
The lineup is exactly the same. (Side note, when was the last time the lineup at the end of the season is the lineup at the start of the next season?)
Bench is better, I guess.
casey i guess i’m going to agree with u, but also this is the way i looked at. the same lineup produce a bunch of runs, but how many of those after the 6th or 7th inning? here’s the thing, what if before the 8th inning the bullpen blows the lead, what then? coz the same lineup will be in cruise control after the 4th inning.. see my point, we need something different in the lineup, not the same attituted and same 3 automatic outs.. come on man.. at least abreu..
yeah, don’t get me wrong, i don’t like it. i just took a hard look at the payroll today and there just isn’t enough money to get ollie and a offensive player like dunn or abreu (let alone manny).
Sure there is. The Mets have plenty of room for 18 million.
trs, I have $125.3m committed already for 2009. The Mets have said they don’t want to go over $140m. That leaves $14.6m to spend. If they sign Perez, all signs point to an amount around $10-12m per year. That would leave $4.6m to spend for the rest of the year. I think the Mets want to leave some money unspent to start the year, so they can sign someone (or make a trade for someone) and still remain at or under $140m.
Now, if they backload Perez’ deal, say paying only $6-7m in 2009, then they would be able to dangle an equal amout at someone who would sign a similarly backloaded deal.
You say the Mets have $18m?
They have NEVER said they intend on 140. They have said they are not looking to ADD more to last year. However, last year was much closer to 150 than 140.
Mets 2008 payroll was around $137m to start the year and it finished (according to Wilpon) around $143m. I’m not sure where the $150m figure comes from.
Again, I hope you are right, but I don’t see how.
I can’t find it now but someone last week showed exactly how much we had committed towards the luxury tax threshold and it was much more due to deferments and other reasons.
I was looking at the salary too. The problem in figuring this out is when the team says $140 what does that include?
I have the current 25 man roster at $127M and 40 man at $152M.
well, we shall see another collapse.. coz this team even though improve will be the same issue, ollie, maine, redding throwing 5 innings every 5 days..
You can do it, Omar!
hey mouserdz? didnt you go to the rally yesterday?
if our paths ever cross i’ll buy you a beer
Omar has about $15m to play with before he hits the $140m budget cap. He’s not going to be able to sign Manny unless he dumps salary and I don’t see him being able to dump salary.
What budget cap? The luxury tax? It’s at 167 million. IF you mean the Mets cap, we have about 16-22 million left to spend.
SELF-IMPOSED budget cap.
Even the self imposed one won’t stop us from spending an extra couple of million. If the Mets sign Perez for 11 and they have 15 to spend I am sure the would sign Abreu for 7 million and go up 3 million.
I guess, man. I don’t know. They have to go over $140m to add an OF. Will they? I hope so, but lately I have been wondering about this team.
You can count me in the corner backing a Manny signing. I feel the mere presence of his bat in the lineup will strike fear in opposing teams. The Phillies boast Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, and Chase Utley… The Mets boast David Wright, Carlos Delgado, and Carlos Beltran. Now throw Manny into that mix with Reyes at the top and the WHOLE dynamic of the team changes. He’s a righty and a must have.
On the otherside, we have to stop calling the Wilpons cheap. Yeah, they are annoying and have to be blind not to see what Manny would mean to this team (which they obviously do), but they are also the same owners that got Carlos Beltran, took on Delgado’s contract, got Billy Wagner and now K-Rod, and of course PAID Santana. They have done a tremendous job of giving us players needed to compete, so let’s not act like they are cheap.
Agreed. If it was our hand that was signing the checks we certainly wouldnt be saying it was cheap with a payroll at around $140 mil. Thats not spare change under the couch cushions…
here here. Its wrong for us to call the wilpons cheap, they did get us Santana this time last year, and what a blast it was to watch him.
from a business side though, i think signing manny will make the team that much more revenue, such that it would pay his salary and whatever lux tax.
no figures to back that up, just a feeling
Thank God ESPN gets everything wrong- otherwise this might be bad news.
I want to see Manny signed by someone else already so I don’t have to worry about that POS polluting my team.
NO MANNY
POS??
man.. u are soooo wrong..
If he pollutes our team by winning two World Championships in Boston and carrying a garbage Dodgers team to the NLCS, then by all means pollute away.
Yea but if he signs somewhere else for one year, you better stay off this site for a while steve, it will pour in all the angry posts like Eff the Wilpons or Eff everybody, Eff him and you.
It will be like that for a while if that hapens.
Thats OK, I occasionaley say Eff the Wilpons myself. One, for not dumping Omar. Two, for not dumping Omar. You get the idea.
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh. I don’t want Manny. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh”
Not sure how to reply to that bit of ingenuity.
Forget headcase Perez. Just sign Ramirez, and maybe Pedro cheaply. If we can only have one of either Oliver headcase Perez or Manny Ramirez, gimme Manny all day obviously. It’s not like we’re talking about Sandy Koufax- it’s Oliver Perez. Just sign Manny- i’d love to have Sheets, but other than him there is not much out there pitching wise, so we’re better off just paying for the big bat. Makes sense.
I too agree with you mistermet. It isn’t like we are deciding whether we want to spend 20 million on Santana or Ramirez. We are choosing between a guy that is SLIGHTLY above average on the hill and a top 5 right handed bat of all time. Obviously the hole in the rotation would be nerve racking, but it’s going to be nerve racking even with Perez in it. The lineup scored TONS of runs last year without Manny, but if failed to do something Manny and the Phillies do more often then not. Hit in the clutch. Lets knock the confidence out of the Phillies… There is no worse feeling im sure then seeing Santana on the hill, Reyes at the top of the order, Wright, Manny, Beltran, Delgado in the middle of the lineup and Putz and Krod waiting at the end if you are the opposition.
Actually Maine WAS averaging 6 innings per start through June. After that things went down hill. That could be because of the injury.
Redding average was fine as well before his injury. You could make a case that both were injured so they should not be counted on. However, if healthy they will average more than 5 innings. In fact Redding did something that not many Mets have done lately, pitch a complete game.
Perez on the other hand it just depends on who you get. Last year he averaged 5.7 and in 2008 he averaged 6.1.
Like many others on the board here, I both love and hate the idea of getting Manny – and don’t see the Wilpons going over last year’s payroll of around $140million, which would seem to rule acquiring Manny out. But the more I sit through this off season, the more I think this team still needs a major shake up of some kind – and Manny is the most logical path to a shake up I can see without doing something radical like trading Beltran.
So how about this as a way to get there:
1. Trade Delgado and his $12million (for the Mets salary) for a bunch of low-salaried prospects to dump salary and build up the farm system
2. Sign Manny with the freed up salary (plus obviously the additional $10mill or whatever it would take) to a two year deal
3. Move Murphy to first and cross your fingers it works
4. Still sign Perez or Sheets as discussed ad nauseum already
So you get your shakeup, add Manny (which equals corner outfielder+power+right-handedness+all out scary hitter) without adding a ridiculous amount to the payroll.
Bc with the way Delgado ended the season, I just don’t want to trade that away right now. He was the most clutch hitter we had down the stretch which isn’t saying much. He deserves the chance to be here as he has carried this Mets team 2 of the 3 seasons he has been here.
if what stark speaks is true, could be a perfect storm forming.
Cerrone is right, the Mets need to come out and say what they are going to do or the Manny rallies are going to get bigger and bigger
i’d say the mets rally need to get bigger, last night’s was like 35 ppl..
LOL, the vocal minority.
And I still don’t get why the Mets WOULD come out and say it. Thus basically letting the Dodgers have him for even cheaper and ticking off Boras in the process.
good point, that being said, from what I read on here. Looks like the manny thing could be a ticking time bomb. if he ends up with a 2 yr deal.
Ahhhh no!!! This whole time I really honestly truthfully wholeheartedly thought it was gunna happen………..
……….. seriously
The thing I don’t get is that I keep hearing our payroll is at about $128 mil right now. If we sign OP for $10 that makes $138 with $5 mil to go to hit last year’s total of $143. If we could get Dunn on a 2 year $16-18 mil deal that would be a steal. It would give us a guy who could play 1st in 2010 if Delgado departs and it would strengthen our bench with Murph/Tatis. For the $8 or 9 mil a year we’d only be $3 or 4 mil over budget. We could get buy with the pen we have right now if we at least made those 2 moves. They at least owe that to us Met fans. BTW – Love the guts last night of the Manny Rally Peeps. Great job by you all.
Well, if we don’t Manny or Dunn it’s not the end of the world, the Mets can still plattoon Tatis, Murphy and Evans. The Mets should only be focused on catching, second base pitching and the outfield. The Mets should get Pudge, Hudson, Perez, Sheets, Manny and Dunn. There are only about 2 and a half weeks untill Spring Training.
How about OP and either Wiggy or Millar. Rather have Dunn, but with the cheapness lately and the signing of 15 scrubs I’ll take any one of the above at this point.
I would def sign Wiggy. He can play second, third, and the outfield.
Manny is NOT coming here.
The Mets said they will not exceed last years payroll (143 million)
And that was before the Wilpons lost 300 million!!!
This is BS! We have to sign Manny. Come on.
There’s not a worse feeling than being an 88 win team.
being an 88 win team three seasons in a row?
You would think after 2 straight collapses, this team would be scrambling to get rid of the stigma.
All of you who are just happy to have a “competitive” team should go root for Cincinnati. How many of you weren’t upset when the Giants got send home early? Giants fans want Plaxico back after the guy shoots himself b/c they realize what they need to be a championship squad.
My problem is that I don’t want the Mets to be a “competitive” squad…I want them to annihilate the rest of the NL East. No, I’m not OK with just competing with the Marlins for a playoff spot.
Oliver Perez and into lets go to Spring Training…wtf?? I wouldn’t give any pitcher 14MM a season if there is a possibility that he may not make it through the 1ST INNING on any given night. We sayanora’d Glavine for that sh!^. These guys need to sign Manny to save face with the fans, point blank. period.
remember when Beltran said “the new Mets”
Signing a selfish jerk is no way to erase a stigma.
It’s obvious that we are not going to get Manny…. even though I would love him as our left fielder… but what are our options if we do not get him? I wish we can trade Castillo to KC for Guillen. He can play left field and plays good defense. Then if we could do the trade, I would sign O. Hudson. It would give us a nice balance lineup.
1. Reyes
2. Hudson
3. Wright
4. Beltran
5. Delgado
6. Guillen
7. Church
8. Schnieder/Castro
That’s not a bad lineup
Guillen is another head case. No thanks.
Just sign Dunn, dump Castillo and either put Murphy there or trade Delgado and put Murphy at first and sign Hudson or Wiggy.
why would the mets want a guy that hit almost 400 in the second half…
and i see dunn being burnitz part deux or actually part three lol. however if we got him for lf our line up could be all lefty!
i consider a line up like this:
reyes
murphy
beltran
delgado
wright
dunn
schenider
castillo
opps realized i forgot church! i meant church for muprhy!
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