3 replies to this topic

[BSLChrisStoner]

A Minor League deal for Manny would not be the worst thing in the world, but would not make a lot of sense.

The O's have spent a lot of the Winter talking about how they wanted to avoid locking themselves into a DH, who could only DH. Best case scenario with Manny, is that if his bat justified being in the lineup, he would be a DH only.

In that case, why didn't they push harder to resign Scott (who could have helped from the beginning)?

I don't think it is a coincidence that Tampa Bay took off, once Manny was gone last year. I think it was a case of addition by subtraction in the clubhouse, and improved defense between the lines.

To me, if you are Baltimore's FO, and you are considering bringing Manny in; don't you have to see what happens with Cespedes first? If you were to sign Cespedes (and not trade Jones), he would be taking over LF sooner than later. Showalter has made clear he wants to get Reimold regular ab's. If Cespedes is in LF, the regular ab's for Reimold are at DH.

While I personally do not want to see Manny sign with the O's, or think it makes a lot of sense, I would not totally discount his chances of producing some (once eligible). He is one of the best RH hitters of all-time. In '10, he still put up very good numbers. Last year when he was signing with Tampa, we saw stories and comments such as the following:

1/21/11
FG: http://www.fangraphs...-dh-leftovers/\

For all of his recent (real and/or exaggerated) foibles, Manny is probably the cream of this crop (Vlad, Branyan). Yes, he had a down season (for him) in 2010. He only had 320 plate appearances, but the accompanying .298/.409/.460 line (.382 wOBA) was good for about 16 park-adjusted batting runs above average. I’m sure some will say that “you want more power from your DH,” but that’s simply a dogmatic assumption — a .400 OBP is good from any spot, and really, a .382 wOBA is a .382 wOBA. Only 16 qualified hitters did better than that in 2010. CAIRO projects his 2011 line as .298/.406/.540 for a .391 wOBA (in Chicago). That’s 39 runs above average per 700 plate appearances. Of course, Manny won’t get 700 plate appearances. He shouldn’t play the outfield, not only because he’s terrible out there, but so that he can stay healthy. Taking that into account (which rules out starting interleague games), along with recent injury problems and his advancing age, 500 plate appearances seems more reasonable. Over 500 plate appearances, a .391 wOBA is worth 28 runs above average. That’s something like a three-win player, so if Manny gets paid $8 milllion or less for the 2011 season (and given what older, bat-only players have been getting lately, that seems pretty likely), some team is looking at a pretty big bargain.

1/22/11
DRaysBay: http://www.draysbay....damon-for-7-25m

Manny is a bit tougher to project. He missed some time last season due to injuries, and scouts seem to feel that his bad speed has declined. Maybe this was a result of his injury or maybe it's for real: after all, the man will be 39 years old this season. However, even with battling injuries and a declining bat, Manny posted a .298 / .409 / .460 line, good for a .870 OPS and a .382 wOBA. That's a better line than anyone on the Rays posted last season, including Longoria and Crawford; Longoria had a higher slugging yet lower on base percentage and wOBA, while Crawford had a higher batting average and slugging, yet lower everything else. Even if Manny's bat doesn't improve any from last season, he's still an incredible hitter and will likely be the best DH the Rays have ever had.

Oh, and per Peter Gammons, Manny is in "unbelievable shape". Remember, he's only one season removed from hitting a homerun ever 22 plate appearances, better than everyone else on the Rays outside of Carlos Pena (who averaged one every 20 plate appearances last season).

I'm hesitant to project a specific WAR total for Manny, considering he's a high-variance case and could produce at a number of levels, but Matt Klaassen took a look at him yesterday on FanGraphs and concluded he could probably produce around three wins as a DH, and he'd be a steal if signed for less than $8M. That's...awesome. Even if you don't like Manny, you have to applaud the Rays on this move: if things don't work out, then they're only down $2M, and the upside for the team is tremendous.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Camden Depot: What does Manny Ramirez offer the O's
http://camdendepot.b...er-orioles.html

Conclusion
"The Orioles do not have much to gain or lose here. Manny could come to Spring Training, go to court at the end, and do whatever he may plea to while serving out a 50 game suspension (MLB and MLBPA compromise) as technically a minor leaguer. He would then spend a couple weeks in the minors trying to work off the rust. You could expect him in an Oriole uniform in mid-June. That would give him six weeks to show off any hitting ability that could reward the Orioles with a fringe prospect. Again, the best case scenario is that Manny plays six weeks, earns about 300-500k, and nets you a fringe prospect. The worst case scenario is that Manny is awful, but stays on the straight and narrow. This would force the Orioles to cut him and swallow 1-1.5MM.

Signing Manny should not cause a gnashing of teeth. This move would be a far cry from MacPhail's eagerness to send replacement level veterans off with a retirement package. However, I do not see much point in signing a 40 year old who took off last season, is in a downward trajectory, has alienated many of his previous teammates, and has an open court case on the charges of domestic battery."

[tpjs1]

I just can not see any upside to signing Manny. Why give a roster spot to another old guy past his prime? Do the Orioles think he will be a positive influence in the clubhouse? Maybe they think a few extra people might come to see him.

If they sign him, it is just another bad move.

[SportsGuy]

I personally don't care about any clubhouse stuff or anything like that, which could come from Manny.

My issue is, if you are going to bring in an old guy who used to be good, why not get Maggs, Damon or Matsui? Those guys probably give you a better chance at winning than ManRam does.

But even beyond that, why would you bring in anyone who could take at bats from more important long term players, particualrly someone who is basically done?