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Written by Mark Healey
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Monday, 28 July 2008 |
 The biggest difference between the Winter Meetings and the July 31st
trade deadline Rumor Mill is the source of information. Given that free
agency and walk-year trades dominate in December, the player agents are
usually where the most accurate information comes from. However, at
the non-waiver trade deadline, there's no better source of info than
the scouts (who are actually being assigned players to monitor for said
trades) and the baseball execs who are fielding the very calls
pertaining to players and trades that on the record, they deny.
With that in mind, the recent Manny Ramirez rumors are a perfect example of how information is leaked, shared and otherwise spun to distract the media and get the fans' collective mouths watering.
According to various published reports, the Mets aren't interested in the suddenly "available" Manny Ramirez. Boston GM Theo Epstein has said that he would trade his All-Star left-fielder in the right deal, and Manny has said that he would accept a trade to the right situation, especially if they canceled the two team options the Red Sox curently hold for 2009-10.
As reported in Gotham Baseball Magazine and other places, Mets GM Omar Minaya has long coveted Ramirez, and has tried to acquire him on more than one occasion during his tenure in New York. Everything we hear is that the only thing that's standing in the way of a David Wright/Carlos Beltran/Manny Ramirez/Carlos Delgado middle of the batting order for the Mets is prospect Fernando Martinez.
The temptation to add a future Hall-of -Famer who is still playing at a very high level "is very tempting" for the Mets GM, says one NL executive with direct knowledge of the situation.
"He could have had him for (former Mets prospect Lastings) Milledge two years ago, but the Red Sox wouldn't kick in enough money...let's put it this way, Minaya loves Fernando Martinez, but he'd love a World Series trophy a hell of a lot more."
With the Pirates continuing to ask for Martinez-plus in return for Jason Bay, and the other real alternative being the solid but underwhelming Raul Ibanez, the Mets -- according to our sources -- are starting to think that "finally" acquiring Ramirez is the missing piece of a World Series puzzle. With a great deal of the NY media and fanbase already grumbling about the astronomical ticket price increases for Citi Field for 2009, a championship may make the price tag a bit more digestible.
However, there's another side to this deal as well; replacing Manny.
As witnessed in Sunday's rout of the Yankees, one pretty big obstacle to any Red Sox-Mets deal for Ramirez is how the Bosox would replace the left-fielder's still-potent bat in the middle of a pennant race. The Rumor Mill is hearing that the Pirates are willing to part with Bay if the Red Sox will deal catching prospect George Kottaras, but so far, the Red Sox have balked.
"The Pirates are in a very weird position." said one AL scout, who has been scouting the Pirates for the last several weeks. "(Bay) would really, really help a contending team, but we aren't willing to deal any of our Top 10 guys to get them."
This would create another scenario in which Minaya would have to wait for another team to lower its asking price before he can deal with another team to acquire a player he really wants. Recent history suggest that Minaya will be patient for a day or two, then move on. Given that he doesn't really have the luxury of doing that this time arouynd, I think Ramirez in a Mets uniform is a long shot.
Then again, so was Johan Santana.
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