Manny Ramirez signs on with Scott Boras

Super-agent Scott Boras has landed another big time client and another Red Sox, this time it's outfielder Manny Ramirez.

Ramírez left former agent Greg Genske, who had represented him since his former parner, Jeff Moorad — who negotiated Ramírez's eight-year, $160 million deal with the Sox before the 2001 season.

Trot Nixon signs with Arizona

Almost a week ago, former Red Sox outfielder Trot Nixon was in Arizona working out for the Diamondbacks.

Apparently, Arizona liked what they saw. On Friday, they signed Nixon to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. Nixon is an insurance policy in case Chad Tracy is not fully healthy come opening day.

Weaver returning to St. Louis?

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the St. Louis Cardinals are considering right-handers Jeff Weaver and Bartolo Colon, especially with Matt Clement looking more and more like he won't be ready for Opening Day.

For Weaver, this would be his 2nd tour of duty with the Cardinals, his first tour was capped off with a World Series Championship. I wasn't sure why the Cardinals didn't bring him back in the first place, especially seeing how well he pitched for them down the stretch.

As for Colon, pitchers and catchers have already reported to their respective camps and the former AL Cy Young Award Winner is still without a job. A lot of teams have been interested, but have been turned off by his medical reports on his injured right shoulder.

Huh..turned off by Colon's medical reports but they signed Matt Clement. I guess it wouldn't surprise me if the Cardinals took a chance on another injured pitcher.

Angels win arbitration case with Rodriguez

Angels' closer Francisco Rodriguez got his name on the list of players defeated in arbitration this year. KRod was seeking $12.5M, while the Angels offered and won at $10M.

The only player to win his arbitration case, to no surprise, was Phillies' 1st baseman Ryan Howard.

Royals, Brewers to switch leagues?

According to the Kansas City Star, a rumor has popped up that has a trade going down between the Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers.

Though, this isn't your every day, run of the mill, swap of players. It's rumored that the Royals could be moving to the National League Central while the Brewers would return to the American League, where they had been until 1997.

Though this rumor is being dismissed by the Royals, there's talk that they have wanted to return to the National League and actually had a chance to make the move back in 1997, but turned it down after consideration.

DBacks give GM Byrnes extension

According to the AP, the Arizona Diamondbacks have locked up general manager Josh Byrnes for another 8 years.

Byrnes became the GM in 2003 and has built up the minor league system that helped the Diamonbacks win the NL West title in 2007.

Rowand wants Giants to acquire Crede

Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News reports, new Giant Aaron Rowand was apparently asked for a character reference for former teammate, and free agent 3rd baseman, Joe Crede from the Giants front office.

Though Rowand does admit he may be biased because of being teammates he said "They inquired and asked about what kind of guy he is," Rowand said. "They obviously know what he can do as a baseball player."

Crede was limited to only 47 games in 2007 due to injury and underwent surgery to fix a herniated disk in June of last year.

"He's one of the most clutch hitters I've ever played with," Rowand said. "I can't tell you how many ballgames he won for us in '05. He makes adjustments, he hits home runs, he hits in the clutch and he plays Gold Glove third base."

Looking Forward to 2008: New York Mets

The New York Mets had one of the biggest collapses in 2007, allowing the Philadelphia Phillies to win the NL East, resulting in the Mets missing the playoffs.

General Manager Omar Minaya needed to make sure that didn't happen again in 2008. Though their offseason seemed like it was going to go by without a major move, that move came, and what a big one it was.

The Mets sent Carlos Gomez, Deolis Guerra, Kevin Mulvey and Phil Humber to Minnesota for right-hander Johan Santana, a player that a lot of baseball writers and fans would end up with Boston or the Yankees.

When you have a rotation that starts with Santana and follows with young John Maine, that's not a bad 1-2 punch in the NL East.

Arrivals:

C Brian Schneider

OF Ryan Church

C Johnny Estrada

RHP Matt Wise

RHP Brian Stokes

RHP Steven Register

OF Angel Pagan

Departures:

LHP Glavine

C Paul Lo Duca

OF Lastings Milledg

RHP Mota

C Estrada

RHP Juan Padilla

RF/1B Green

2B Jose Valentin

INF/OF David Newhan

LHP Dave Williams

C Sandy Alomar Jr.

C Mike DiFelice

1B/OF Jeff Conine

RHP Aaron Sele

OF Ben Johnson

On the offensive side of the ball, the Mets should be just as strong as they were last season. Start things with outfielders Carlos Beltran and Moises Alou, 1st baseman Carlos Delgado, 3rd baseman David Wright and SS Jose Reyes, there really isn't that much to worried about.

The biggest question mark for the Mets is the back end of their rotation. How will Oliver Perez, Orlando Hernandez and possibly Mike Pelfrey be in the 3,4 and 5 spots?

Prediction Time:

The Phillies are the defending NL East Champions, and although the Mets have reloaded, I just don't know how their pitching staff will hold up through the entire 2008 season. The Mets should be the team to beat in the NL East, but the Phillies will give them a heck of a run.

Mets - 92 - 70

Fogg signs with Reds

According to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com, the Cincinnati Reds picked up another pitcher to help out their starting rotation.

On Thursday, the Reds came to an agreement with free agent right-hander Josh Fogg on a 1-year $1M deal.

GM Wayne Krivsky on signing Fogg "It heated up here the last couple of weeks. Looking at the board of who was available, we thought he'd be a good fit."

Josh Fogg on signing with the Reds, "This was a place I wanted to end up. I think the opportunity to come in as a veteran guy and add a little stability to the pitching staff was one of the reasons I signed here."

Sheffield pulls no punches about former agent

Gary Sheffield is known for being outspoken, so when he was asked about his former agent Scott Boras, that outspoken nature continued.

Because of the grievance between the two, stemming from Sheffield's 3-year deal with the Yankees in 2003, has not yet been settled, Sheffield wouldn't talk about specifics but that didn't mean he wouldn't take his shots at Boras.

“It ain’t going to be pretty,” he said. “No fine is going to be big enough. No suspension is going to be long enough.”

“Nothing happens. Then, he comes back, `I want some more money.’ That’s basically the way he’s acting,” Sheffield said. “I don’t know why. It’s probably personal with him. But when it’s done, it’s going to be personal with me.”

Jenifer Langosch returns to The Hot Corner

Jenifer Langosch, who was one of the first interviews I ever did for this site, was good enough to take time out of her busy spring training schedule to answer a few questions on the Pirates as they get ready for their 2008 season.


Baseball-Rumors: What's your take on the letter to the fans from GM Neil Huntington?

Jenifer Langosch: All I can really say about this is that what Huntington says in that letter is truly what he means. He did do an overhaul of the system, and despite the lack of offseason moves, he is happy with where this team is going.

I'd have to agree on his insistence on not overspending in the FA market. The Pirates have been burned by signing older guys (i.e. Jeromy Burnitz, Sean Casey, Joe Randa, etc...) and it never pays off. All it does is provide a one-year fix (if that), and the cost is high. This year's FA market really wasn't that great when it came to finding affordable players for a team like Pittsburgh. Huntington made it a priority not to overspend because of panic in needing to make a splash in the news -- and I think that was smart.

The trouble with this team is that there is always going to be a struggle in finding a balance between producing now and building for the future. I think Huntington addresses that in this letter. He will have to make unpopular decisions because of the structure of this club (i.e. build up through farm system and trade away veteran players to restock system -- like a cycle). There is some stuff to be optimistic about this year, and the biggest thing that Huntington has gotten across this spring is that he believes in the direction and new philosophy of this organization.


Baseball-Rumors: Is there more or less pressure on Adam LaRoche going into 2008?

Jenifer Langosch: Definitely less. LaRoche came into last season being called the savior of this ballclub. He was being called upon to single-handedly turn around this team into a contender. Those expectations not only weren't fair, but they also wore on LaRoche.

He's arrived at ST fully healthy, ready to take on a leadership role (by example) and feeling stronger than he has at the beginning of camp in the past. The weight of this team doesn't lie on any one player -- and LaRoche (and everyone else) understands that this year.


Baseball-Rumors: How good is the battle going to be between Ryan Doumit and Ronny Paulinofor the starting catcher's job?

Jenifer Langosch: Not sure how exciting it's going to actually be simply because Paulino has the job already. Doumit has arrived in fantastic shape, and the organization still sees him as a potential option behind the plate in the future. However, the job has already been given to Paulino. I wouldn't expect there to be a competition so much in ST. Doumit will have a chance to prove that he has improved at the position, but unless something drastic happens, Paulino will start behind the plate. Where the competition will more likely come into play is during the season.

If Paulino doesn't produce (offensively or defensively) as the season goes on, then the team is going to have a decision to make. That's when you might see Doumit compete for that starting spot.


Baseball-Rumors: I know Chris Duffy is battling an injured left shoulder. Do the Piratesexpect him to be ready for Opening Day?

Jenifer Langosch: Duffy is expected to be ready... but don't expect him to be on the Pirates' Opening Day roster. He just started taking BP this week and he is still limited on his throwing. The Pirates expect him to be able to participate in ST games once those begin, but with Duffy's rustiness from time off and with the Nyjer Morgan/Nate McLouth battle going to determine the team's starting CF, Duffy will start the season in Triple-A.

Ryan Howard makes arbitration history

I'm not sure what the Phillies were thinking with this decision, but they decided to go to arbitration with 1st baseman Ryan Howard on Thursday.

Howard made $900k last year, but after hitting .268 with 47 HR's and 136 RBI's last year, he tied Alfonso Soriano for the highest amount ever given to a victorious player after being awared $10M.

The Phillies tried to get something done prior to the hearing, even negotiating right before the start of the hearing. Phillies assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said, “We negotiated right up to the courthouse steps with Ryan in a variety of ways and unfortunately we couldn’t get it done.”

Looking Forward to 2008: Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins looked like they could be in the hunt to win the AL Central, that was before Torii Hunter departed via Free Agency and they traded their ace Johan Santana to the NY Mets.

Now, the Twins seem in a little bit of a rebuilding mode, though they are a young team, they should still be a fun team to watch in 2008.

The Twins did show, however, that they were willing to keep around a few familiar faces of their franchise, locking up Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau to long term deals. Along with those familiar faces, will be some new ones that should bring veteran presence, guys like Adam Everett, Craig Monroe and Mike Lamb.

Arrivals:

SS Adam Everett

3B Mike Lamb

IF Brendan Harris

OFs Delmon Young

Craig Monroe

Jason Pridie

Livan Hernandez

Carlos Gomez

Deolis Guerra

Kevin Mulvey

Phil Humber

Departures:

Torii Hunter

Johan Santana

Rondell White

Lew Ford

Jason Tyner

Jason Bartlett

Matt Garza

Carlos Silva

With Johan Santana, Matt Garza and Carlos Silva missing from the rotation, the Twins will have to see who they will fill those rotation spots with. Will it be nearly as strong without those 3? That's still yet to be determined. Though, even with those 3 in the mix, the Twins still finished 4 games under .500.

Though their pitching staff will be different from that of 2007, offensively, this team might surprise some people. Catcher Joe Mauer, 1st baseman Just Morneau, outfielder Michael Cuddyer and DH Jason Kubel lead the Twins' offense, but let's not forget new additions Adam Everett, Mike Lamb and Craig Monroe who can also give opposing pitchers fits.

Prediction Time:

I can't imagine losing Santana, Hunter and Silva is going to help this ballclub, but if the players they received in return from the Mets for Santana can pull their weight and the trio of Mauer, Cuddyer and Morneau can have big years, maybe the Twins can be a pain in the sides of the Indians and Tigers.

Twins - 70-92

Crisp may ask Red Sox to trade him

Coco Crisp may ask the Boston Red Sox to trade him if he's going to be on the bench next season. Though the Red Sox say there will be a competition between Crisp and young outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, Crisp thinks he sees the writing on the wall.

“I would honestly rather be somewhere else and play than be on the bench,” he said. “But I’ll take whatever comes and deal with it and no knock against Boston. I love the fans. They treated me well.”

There could be a few teams that are still looking for outfield help that could be interested in Crisp, but according to manager Terry Francona, “We want Coco on our team,” Francona said. “We have two good center fielders.”

Clement won't be ready for Opening Day

Surprise, surprise. Though, who really is surprised by the news from the St. Louis Cardinals that right-hander Matt Clement will not be ready by Opening Day.

Pitching coach Dave Duncan broke the news, saying it wasn't a physical setback but lack of strength in his pitching shoulder.

Clement is trying to make a comeback from surgery, almost a year and a half ago, on a torn labrum and rotator cuff.

When free agency had first started, there was a lot of talk that Clement was going to end up back with his former team the San Diego Padres. The Padres must have seen something in his medical reports that kept that signing from happening. It wasn't the fact that they didn't want a pitcher coming off surgery, they've got 2 of those in Mark Prior and Randy Wolf not to mention Glendon Rusch who's returning from a blood clot.

Bucs' GM Huntington releases statement to fans

With spring training just getting underway, the last thing you'd expect to see is your team's general manager releasing a statement, telling you fans why they were inactive during the offseason.

Well, one general manager decided he would. It was Pittsburgh Pirates' GM Neil Huntington. You can read it, in it's entirety here.

Here are just a few excerpts from it...

"While some have questioned the level of our player personnel activity this offseason, I want to assure you that we have hit the ground running and have worked very hard to restore the pride and passion of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Indeed, the Pirates are a fundamentally different organization today than at this time last year. Beginning with Bob Nutting assuming control of the ballclub a little more than a year ago, this organization has taken orderly steps to improve our internal operations and build a ballclub of which you can justifiably be proud...."

"On the Major League side, we simply cannot and will not repeat the same mistakes this organization has made in the past by making trades and/or free-agent signings simply for the sake of making moves. We chose not to trade players at their lowest value or to trade away our talented, young players just for the sake of making changes."

"Around the diamond we should be strong up the middle with Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez and Nate McLouth or Nyjer Morgan. On the corners, we are looking forward to healthy and productive seasons from Jason Bay and Xavier Nady and continued development from Adam LaRoche and Jose Bautista. Our bench will be anchored by versatile veteran Chris Gomez, and we will have solid, versatile Major League-caliber options for our manager to use as he deems necessary. Additionally we look forward to the continued development of exciting young players like Steve Pearce, Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Brian Bixler and others."

Cubs sign Cintron to minor league deal

The Cubs have signed infielder Alex Cintron to a minor league deal with an invitiation to spring training according to a team press release on Monday.

Cintron has a career .277 batting average (525-for-1897) seven major league seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2001-05) and the Chicago White Sox (2006-07). He has played 338 big league games at shortstop, 109 games at second base and 88 games at third base.

Nationals sign Odalis Perez

According to a press release from the Washington Nationals, they have signed free agent right-hander Odalis Perez, though there have no details of the deal released as of yet.

Perez finished the 2007 season with an 8-11 record with a 5.57 ERA in 27 starts for the Kansas City Royals.

A return to the National League may not be such a horrible thing for Perez, who faired pretty well with the Braves and Dodgers, including a trip to the 2002 All Star Game as a Dodger.

Texas lock up Kinsler long term

T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports, the Texas Rangers have reached a contract extension agreement with 2nd baseman Ian Kinsler on Tuesday. The deal is reportedly is 5-years $22M with a $10M club option for 2013.

"This is a big day for me and my family," Kinsler said during his press conference on Tuesday. "I've been working my whole life to get to this point, since my dad first started taking me out in the backyard and started throwing the baseball with me.

"It's big for us," general manager Jon Daniels said. "It has been pretty clear since Day 1 that Ian is the type of person we want to be about and invest in. Ian has performed at a high level and I would expect him to continue to improve."

This is a great extension for the Rangers, especially to sign a player that is going to be the long term face of this franchise, not to mention he's one of the better young players in baseball and one to keep your eye on in fantasy leagues.

Greene says he wants to stay a Padre

Unlike previous reports and fan belief, Khalil Greene says he wants to say a Padre for life.

He spoke to reporters on Monday and said, "there's nowhere else where I would want to play than San Diego." There had been a belief among a lot of Padre, and baseball in general, fans that Greene wanted to move closer to his family in South Carolina, possibly to a team like Atlanta.

I guess we can put this bed for good? Eh, maybe not that quickly.

Padres to talk to Black about extension

According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union Tribune, Padres GM Kevin Towers and CEO Sandy Alderson plan to talk to Padres manager Bud Black about a contract extension prior to the start of the 2008 regular season.

Black is in the final year of a 2-year contract that includes an option for 2009. “We'll probably talk some time in spring training,” Towers said, confirming that Padres have discussed the subject.

Trot Nixon works out for Diamondbacks

Former Red Sox outfielder Trot Nixon was in Arizona over the weekend to work out for the Diamondbacks. The DBacks are interested in Nixon in case Chad Tracy, who underwent microfracture surgery, isn't ready for the start of the season.

DBacks' GM Josh Byrnes was asked about what they were looking at with Nixon and said he's "a confluence of us monitoring our own health, specifically Chad Tracy, and then a player's appetite to take an opportunity if it's kind of narrow."

Looking Forward to 2008: Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers come off a disappointing 4th place finish in 2007, they needed needed a new look, not only on the field, but in the dugout as well.

After the Dodgers fired manager Grady Little, like the Lakers, they brought in a familiar face to the sports world, former long time Yankee manager Joe Torre. Could this mean a new era in Dodgertown, especially with the team in it's final spring training season in Vero Beach, FL, making the move to Arizona in 2009.

Torre wasn't the only big move the Dodgers would make, bringing in former Braves' CF Andruw Jones (2-years $36.2M) to be their new center fielder, possibly forcing Juan Pierre to left field or possibly to a bench role.

Arrivals:

CF Jones

RHP Kuroda

C Gary Bennett

Departures:

OF Luis Gonzalez

LHP Mark Hendrickson

RHP Roberto Hernandez

3B Shea Hillenbrand

C Mike Lieberthal

INF Ramon Martinez

C Chad Moeller

INF Olmedo Saenz

RHP Rudy Seanez

INF Mark Sweeney

RHP Chin-hui Tsao

LHP David Wells

LHP Randy Wolf

Not only was Jones a big addition for the Dodgers, but they also landed Japanese right-hander Hiroki Kuroda (3-years $53.3M). Though this is his first year in the big leagues, the Dodgers think highly of him and believe he'll add depth to their starting rotation. Though, the Dodgers will have a few unknowns going into 2008, mainly the health of Jason Schmidt. Without Schmidt, the Dodgers still have a rotation that will win you a lot of games with Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley and another new addition in Esteban Loaiza.

On the offensive side, the Dodgers also seem very strong. Veteran 2nd baseman Jeff Kent returns to what could be his final season in the big leagues, along with catcher Russell Martin, SS Rafael Furcal, 1st baseman James Loney and young outfielders Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier. The one question will be with outfielder Juan Pierre, with the addition of Jones along with Kemp and Ethier, could the Dodgers look to trade him before the end of spring training?

Prediction Time:

Though the Dodgers look good on paper, their success will depend on what kind of year Andruw Jones has, if their pitchers stay healthy and Jason Schmidt is 100% when he returns. Bare in mind, they're in a division that is considered one of the best in baseball with the deepest pitching staffs in the national league, with exception to possibly the NY Mets.

Dodgers - 88-74

KRod wants long term deal from Angels

Angels' closer Francisco Rodriguez has made it clear that he wants a long term extension from the team or opt for free agency after the 2008 season.

Both sides are headed for an arbitration hearing this coming Thursday (2/21), Rodriguez is asking for $12.5M/year, the Angels countered with $10M/year.

When asked about the situation, Rodriguez stated, “If they would have wanted me here, they would have done something a long time ago. “There is still a long time before the season starts. We still have a month and a half. By then, when the season starts, I’ll have my decision made.”

Bret Boone out of retirement, signs with Nationals

After announcing his retirement back in 2006, Bret Boone has decided that he wants to play again and has agreed to a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals.

Bret will join father and assistant GM Bob Boone and younger brother Aaron in the Nationals organization.

Bret hasn't played a competetive game since 2005, you have to think there's got to be a lot of rust he would have to work off if he's going to make the team out of spring training.

Prank on Phillies' pitcher Kyle Kendrick

If you haven't seen this, it's hilarious. Orchastrated by Brett Myers, it included manager Charlie Manual, assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr, Kendrick's agent and even the media to pull this off. It's hilarious...

Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick was lead to believe they had traded him to Japan, little did he know, everyone was in on the joke except for him.

Edmonds training with LA SWAT?

According to Dan Hays of the North County Times, San Diego Padres' CF Jim Edmonds wanted to find a way to get his strength and agility back.

The direction he chose was a little out of the ordinary, but according to Edmonds his leg strength has increased 300%, feeling faster and more agile than he has in previous years.

Jim Edmonds wanted a more rigorous offseason training program and he got all he bargained for and a whole lot more. Former Cardinal teammate Skip Schumacher gave him the name Jim Moss. Moss is a 3-year veteran of the Los Angeles SWAT team and is also a personal trainer in the Dana Point area.

This was unlike anything Edmonds has ever experienced, calling it "brutal", also saying "Moss told me most guys don't make it back for the third workout. We were running right away. The lifting was ridiculous. Every day I walked in, he shook his head like, 'I can't believe you're back."

Time will tell whether this training program will bring Edmonds back to where he was in his hay day and can keep him healthy for 162 games. The Padres could definetely use his power and speed.