Free Agent News

[Raji]

The Milwaukee Brewers picked up a $10 million option Monday to bring back center fielder Mike Cameron for 2009.

Cameron

Cameron
Cameron, a three-time Gold Glove winner and 2001 All-Star, hit .243 with 25 home runs and 70 RBIs in 120 games in 2008.

"I didn't think my option would get picked up," Cameron told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "This was a surprise, to be honest with you."

The 35-year-old was suspended by the league for 25 games to open the season for using a banned stimulant last year.

"In a statistical analysis, he ranked as the sixth-best center fielder in the major leagues," Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said, according to the Journal Sentinel. "And he improved our pitching by playing center field the way he did.

"The only difficult thing is that we're so right-handed," Melvin added, regarding the lineup. "But we felt he has value. When you look at his contract, we paid him $7.5 million average for two years. That's the way we viewed it."

Monday was the last day the Brewers could exercise Cameron's contract option.

"I'm just thankful to get another opportunity to be involved with a team that's on the verge of knocking some doors down on a yearly basis," Cameron said, according to the newspaper.

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[Raji]

NEW YORK -- Record-setting closer Francisco Rodriguez and shortstops Rafael Furcal, Omar Vizquel and Edgar Renteria were among 19 players who filed for free agency Monday.

Pitchers Brandon Lyon and Paul Byrd also joined the list. Of the 178 players potentially eligible for free agency, 149 have filed since the World Series ended last week.

Rodriguez went 62-for-69 on save chances for the Los Angeles Angels, breaking the record of 57 saves set by Bobby Thigpen in 1990. K-Rod was 2-3 with a 2.24 ERA for the only team in the majors to win 100 games.

Vizquel filed after San Francisco declined a $5.2 million option, choosing to pay a $300,000 buyout.

Tampa Bay declined options on a pair of players who helped the Rays win the AL pennant: designated hitter Cliff Floyd and relief pitcher Trever Miller.

Floyd hit .268 with 11 homers and 39 RBIs in 72 starts this season. The Rays held a $3 million option with a $250,000 buyout on the 35-year-old slugger, who was on the postseason roster until a right shoulder injury sidelined him for the final two games of the World Series loss to Philadelphia.

The club held a $2 million option with a $400,000 buyout on Miller, who was 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA and two saves in 68 games. The 35-year-old lefty has made at least 60 appearances in each of the past six seasons.

Floyd and Miller are in the group of players still eligible to file for free agency by the Nov. 13 deadline. Free agents can start negotiating money with all clubs the following day.

Mike Cameron's $10 million option was exercised by the Milwaukee Brewers, preventing him from becoming eligible to file. The Brewers could have paid a $750,000 buyout to the three-time Gold Glove winner, who batted .243 with 25 home runs and 70 RBIs this season.

The Kansas City Royals and catcher Miguel Olivo exercised a mutual $2.7 million option. He batted .255 with 12 homers, 22 doubles and 41 RBIs in 84 games this year.

Also, San Diego general manager Kevin Towers said at the GM meetings in California that the Padres probably will exercise outfielder Brian Giles' $9 million option by Saturday's deadline and are trying to work out an agreement to keep closer Trevor Hoffman.

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[Raji]

The Milwaukee Brewers have opened up the bidding for free-agent ace CC Sabathia.

Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said Monday that the team made a contract proposal to Sabathia over the weekend but wasn't willing to discuss terms of the offer or assess the team's chances of keeping its prize pitcher.

"It's in their hands," Melvin said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "He hasn't really had a chance to talk with other teams."

Sabathia, who went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA for Milwaukee after he was traded from the Cleveland Indians on July 7, filed for free agency over the weekend and is expected to draw interest from big-market teams who could outbid the Brewers. His new deal could top Johan Santana's $137.5 million, six-year contract with the New York Mets.

Melvin is in Dana Point, Calif., for this week's general managers meetings, continuing what has already been a busy offseason.

The Brewers hired new manager Ken Macha last week and are expected to announce that former interim manager Dale Sveum will be retained as the team's new hitting coach, a move Sveum recently confirmed to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Sveum replaced Ned Yost, who was fired with two weeks remaining in the regular season.

In yet another move, pitching coach Mike Maddux is leaving to take the same position with the Texas Rangers.

And Milwaukee announced on Monday that it has exercised its $10 million option on center fielder Mike Cameron's contract for next season.

But the real prize would be keeping Sabathia, whose dominant pitching went a long way toward powering the Brewers to their first playoff appearance since 1982. Milwaukee lost to the eventual World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies in the first round.

Sabathia was the anchor of the staff in the second half of the season for Milwaukee, throwing seven complete games and three shutouts. Overall, the 28-year-old left-hander was 17-10 with a 2.70 ERA for the Indians and Brewers.

Fellow Brewers starter Ben Sheets, a talented but injury-plagued right-hander, has also filed for free agency.

Other Brewers free agents include third baseman Russell Branyan, second baseman Ray Durham, reliever Eric Gagne, outfielder Gabe Kapler, third baseman Mike Lamb and reliever Guillermo Mota.

The 35-year-old Cameron batted .243 with 25 home runs, 70 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 120 games during his first season with the Brewers. He made 119 starts, all in center field, and committed only one error after beginning the season on suspension for using a banned stimulant the previous year.

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[brs14ku]

Someone is going to overpay CC huge...hopefully its an NL team so he can keep dominating, otherwise it could not be so great for them.

[Raji]

Right-hander A.J. Burnett will opt out of his multiyear contract with the Toronto Blue Jays and declare free agency, his agent said Tuesday.

A.J. Burnett
Burnett

Starting Pitcher
Toronto Blue Jays

Profile
2008 Season Stats GM W L BB K ERA
35 18 10 86 231 4.07

Agent Darek Braunecker said he's filed the necessary paperwork with the players' association and that Burnett will be opting out of the final two years of his five-year, $55 million contract. Burnett had two years and $24 million left on the deal.

"It's just a formality," Braunecker said from the general managers' meetings in Dana Point, Calif. "We're going to continue dialogue with [the Blue Jays]. But this is the formal exercise that allows us to talk to other people on A.J.'s behalf."

Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi said talks will continue on the possibility of a new deal for the hard-throwing right-hander, who turns 32 in January.

"We have a good dialogue going," Ricciardi said at the general managers' meetings. "They're going to get back to us later in the week."

Ricciardi believes Braunecker's assertion that the Blue Jays remain an option.

"If we weren't a possibility, he wouldn't have said it," the GM said.

Burnett posted an 18-10 record with a 4.07 ERA for Toronto this season and established career highs with 34 starts and 221 1/3 innings pitched. He's expected to be seeking a four- or five-year deal for at least $16 million annually on the open market.

While CC Sabathia is the headliner in this winter's free-agent crop, Burnett ranks on the next tier with Derek Lowe and Ryan Dempster.

Ben Sheets could also be among that group, but there are concerns about his health after he pitched only 4 1/3 innings after Sept. 11 because of elbow issues.

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[Raji]

The Los Angeles Dodgers want a full-length feature of the Manny Ramirez show after last season's short.

General manager Ned Colletti said Wednesday that the Dodgers made an offer to the free-agent slugger, and their pitch would give him the second-highest average salary in the sport behind Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

"If you saw the bid, it's nothing that we're embarrassed by," Colletti said at the GM meetings. "Manny was close to that number, anyway -- closer to that area than the last place he's been."

Rodriguez currently has the top average at $27.5 million under the 10-year deal he agreed to before last season. Mets pitcher Johan Santana is second at $22.9 million under the six-season deal he agreed to this year.

Ramirez, acquired from Boston on July 31, is coming off a $160 million, eight-year contract he signed with the Red Sox before the 2001 season.

"We said, 'Think about it for a while. It's not going to be there forever,'" Colletti said. "Things are always subject to change, and it depends on what else we do, to some extent. I've been asked a few times here if we're going to wait to see what happens with this before we do anything else. But I'm not sure we're going to have the luxury to do that. If there's something else that comes about that we feel we need to do, and the timeliness is there to do it, we'll have to do it."

When the Dodgers were eliminated from the playoffs last month, Ramirez expressed a desire to test the market.

"I want to see who is the highest bidder. Gas is up and so am I," he said then.

Gas prices have gone down sharply since then. His agent, Scott Boras, joked Wednesday.

"I believe that was a prognostication that was of a 24-hour period," Boras said. "Manny's stock career was short-lived."

Ramirez is 36, and the length of the contract could become as issue.

"There's always two elements to it. It's not just the dollar figure, it's for how long," Colletti said.

Boras appears to be seeking a lengthy contract. The Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday that the the Dodgers' offer is believed to be for two years.

"We have now established records with a lot of veteran players, where we're seeing players perform at very high levels into their early 40s," Boras said.

Ramirez hit .396 with 17 homers, 53 RBIs, 36 runs scored, 74 hits and 35 walks in 53 regular-season games, leading the Dodgers to the NL West title.

He was even more potent in the postseason, hitting .520 with four homers, 10 RBIs, nine runs scored and 11 walks in eight playoff games.

The 12-time All-Star has hit 527 career homers, with another 28 in the postseason.

According to MLB.com, Boras said that he would meet with eight other clubs about various clients before the meetings end.

"I've already taken care of the Dodgers for these meetings," he said, according to MLB.com.

Talking to the Mets about Ramirez might not make sense.

"He's an offensive player," Mets general manager Omar Minaya of Ramirez, according to Newsday. "He's been a very good player. But for us, where we are right now, where is it we're going to invest? Our priority right now is we have to address our pitching. We have to look at that first."

Also Wednesday, the Dodgers declined Brad Penny's $9.25 million option, making the 30-year-old right-hander eligible to become a free agent.

Penny, who receives a $2 million buyout, was 6-9 with a 6.27 ERA in 17 starts and two relief appearances last season. He was bothered by shoulder problems for much of the year and went on the disabled list three times: from June 17 to Aug. 8, Aug. 14 to Sept. 10 and Sept. 24 through the end of the season.

He was acquired by the Dodgers from Florida in July 2004 and won 16 games in both 2006 and 2007.

"This past year, between getting hurt and not being able to come back, we just didn't see enough scope of work, really," Colletti said.

While speaking about Ramirez, Colletti addressed the possibility that Greg Maddux will retire. The 355-game winner turns 43 in April.

"I told Scott we'd love to have him back, and we're not going to be closing the door on Greg Maddux anytime soon," Colletti said. "I've known him for a long, long time. I respect who he is and admire him for what he's done. I know the impact he has on a club and on a franchise."

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[Raji]

Manny Ramirez could become the $60 million man if he stays in Los Angeles.

The Dodgers' initial offer to the slugger contains a club option for a third year that would make the total deal match that figure, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday.


Citing a source close to the negotiations, the newspaper reported that Ramirez would earn $15 million next season, $22.5 million in 2010 and the same in 2011 if the team exercised its option. The final year can be bought out for $7.5 million.

The offer stands until Thursday when the Dodgers lose exclusive rights to negotiate with the free agent.

A source told the Times, however, that talks could continue and that the Dodgers would consider guaranteeing the third year of the deal.

Ramirez's agent, Scott Boras, has already said that the length of the deal is not acceptable, according to the newspaper.

Ramirez hit .396 with 17 homers, 53 RBIs, 36 runs scored, 74 hits and 35 walks in 53 regular-season games with Los Angeles, leading the Dodgers to the NL West title.

He was even more potent in the postseason, hitting .520 with four homers, 10 RBIs, nine runs scored and 11 walks in eight playoff games.

The 12-time All-Star has hit 527 career homers, with another 28 in the postseason.

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