Dodgers second to Yankees in offseason spending

Thursday, March 5, 2009 | Feedback | Print Entry

Now that Manny Ramirez has signed, we're close to putting a bow on the free agent spending of the offseason. Mark Simon of ESPN Research compiled these numbers. (I added in Ramirez, who still needs to pass his physical.)

From Simon: "I would note that when you look at what the Yankees committed compared to the other American League teams, it's a little unusual."

Tthe Yankees have $441 million in commitments, the other 13 AL teams have $176.28 million in commitments, combined.

Some bricks in the bottom line of the Ramirez signing:

1. The Dodgers need for their offense to be improved over the course of a full season, because of their very thin rotation, and Ramirez, whether he's invested emotionally or not, is one of the game's best hitters. That's a big plus.

2. The contract that Manny gets, which allows him to opt out after one year, gives the Dodgers the best possible chance at keeping Ramirez in line. When there is a carrot right in front of him, Ramirez is a better player, and if he has another big year, he could make more money in 2010.

3. The Dodgers clearly paid Ramirez more than they had to pay him. They probably could've played hardball and talked Ramirez down to a package in the range of $35 million. But the Dodgers made the decision to maintain their $45 million offer, to keep Manny happy, and they are comfortable with that.

4. Ramirez is getting another $2 million or so more than he would've if he had stayed with the Red Sox and played for $20 million options in 2009 and 2010, so in that regard, he gained a little. But the manner in which he conducted himself with Boston, with his intermittent effort, probably cost him tens of millions on the free agent market.

Getting Manny is great for the Dodgers, but Bill Shaikin wonders if he can pitch.

Ron Borges thinks that Manny turned out to be a winner in all of this.

The signing of Manny is good and bad for the Giants, writes Bruce Jenkins.

Ramona Shelburne thinks the forecast for the Dodgers and Manny is unpredictable.

Meanwhile, Ramirez put his Ritz-Carlton suite in Boston on the market, for $8.5 million, writes Jerry Kronenberg.

Now the Dodgers can get on with their lives, writes Mark Whicker.

Juan Pierre is unsure of his status now.

 
 

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider
  • Buster Olney Buster Olney

    Buster Olney is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. He began covering baseball in 1989, as the Nashville Banner's beat reporter assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. Later, he covered the San Diego Padres (1993-94), the Baltimore Orioles ('95-96), the New York Mets ('97) and the Yankees ('98-2001). Olney joined ESPN The Magazine in 2003, after six years at The New York Times, and he's the author of the Times' best-seller "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty," a book about the Paul O'Neill-Tino Martinez Yankees dynasty of 1996-01.

    He grew up in central Vermont collecting baseball cards and listening to Red Sox, Expos, Phillies and Pirates radio broadcasts, and was a rabid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He graduated from Vanderbilt University the same year as hoops legend Will Perdue, and ranks among the all-time leading scorers in pickup basketball at Memorial Gym. He claims to have witnessed the Commodores' winning football season in 1982 (although anthropologists have not yet confirmed this).

    Olney also contributes to ESPN.com, ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS, "SportsCenter" and "Baseball Tonight."

    Follow Buster on Twitter: @Buster_ESPN

    Ask Buster a question: Buster's Mailbag

Links

Subscribe

RSS RSS Feed

Recent Updates

Archive

More