MLB.com
Manny Ramirez is going to the Dodgers.
The Red Sox, Dodgers and Pirates have agreed to a deal, according to sources, in which Ramirez will go to Los Angeles, outfielder Jason Bay will go from Pittsburgh to Boston and the Pirates will receive pitchers Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen from the Red Sox and third baseman Andy LaRoche and outfielder Bryan Morris from the Dodgers.
The Pirates have called a 5:30 p.m. ET press conference.
Ramirez traded to Dodgers in three-way deal....
Today the news came out that the Tigers traded Pudge Rodriguez to the Yanks for Kyle Farnsworth.
My gut reaction was what in the hell is Dombroski thinking? I was looking forward to Pudge playing his final season in Detroit to standing O's all over the league and going into the hall as a Tiger. Now, nothing.
I was watching the Tigers game against the Tribe and before the game was interviews with Leyland, Dombrowski, and Pudge. The whole thing became a little clearer.
Leyland stated that Pudge was not going to be offered a contract next year and that the decision to make Inge the everyday catcher for 09 was already decided. He further stated that Pudge playing 3 out of 5 games was getting on Pudge's nerves as well, as he wants to play everyday. And the Tigers are trying to get Inge some time behind the plate.
Dombrowsk stated that the deal for Pudge came very suddenly and that Farnsworth can help the team now and that the Tigers are very comfortable with Inge behind the plate.
Pudge for Farnsworth....
by Ken Rosenthal
Ken Griffey Jr. has never played in a World Series. Now he might get his chance.
Griffey has approved a trade to the White Sox, according to a source with knowledge of the deal. The trade is now pending the approval of the commissioner, an indication that it involves a cash transaction of more than $1 million.
The approval is expected to be a formality. The Reds will receive pitcher Nick Masset and second baseman Danny Richar, according to CBS Sportsline.
Griffey had the right to block a deal as a player with at least 10 years of major-league service, five with the same club. He did not receive any form of compensation for waiving his no-trade protection.
Griffey accepts trade to White Sox....
By JACK CURRY
The Los Angeles Angels have the best record in the major leagues, and with a double-digit lead in the American League West, they can already peek ahead to the playoffs. After acquiring first baseman Mark Teixeira from the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, the Angels will probably start looking ahead to the World Series, too.
To obtain Teixeira and strengthen their ordinary offense, the Angels sent first baseman Casey Kotchman and the minor league pitcher Stephen Marek to Atlanta. Teixeira, a switch-hitter whom the Braves acquired at the trade deadline last year, will probably bat behind Vladimir Guerrero and should make the Angels, the strongest team in baseball, even more formidable.
Formidable Angels Acquire Teixeira From the Braves....
BY BEN SCHMITT AND ZACHARY GORCHOW • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
Detroit City Council saved a portion of Tiger Stadium today without even voting.
After about two hours of haggling between preservationists and the Detroit Economic Growth Corp, Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr. sent both groups into a private room and asked them to work something out.
The result was a new agreement in which preservationists must create escrow accounts of $300,000 and $69,000 by Aug. 8, when the issue will be brought back to council.
The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy, a preservation group, also must get complete funding for a museum in place by March 1, 2009, under the agreement. The amount needed is about $15.6 million.
The plan includes preserving the baseball diamond and 3,000 seats, and building a museum.
New plan hatched to save portion of Tiger Stadium....
By Marty Noble / MLB.com
NEW YORK -- The latest "Manny being Manny" episodes in Boston hardly increase the likelihood that the Mets' semi-vacant corner-outfield situation will be solved by a deal importing Manny Ramirez. Even if the Mets were armed with sufficient young talent to satisfy the Red Sox and acquire Ramirez -- even if they wanted to add to their payroll -- Ramirez's behavior might turn the Mets away.
"His bat would be a great addition," one Mets player said on Sunday. "He could help us win. And most of the time, If you're winning, nothing else really matters. But we've got something good going now. I'm not saying he'd screw it up, but you can't tell what he's going to do. ... He's not helping Boston right now."
Whether the Mets believe in such a better-safe-than-sorry manner remains an unknown. But the Mets appear to have neither the chips not the inclination to deal for Ramirez or any other high-profile corner outfielder.
"If there was a perfect fit out there, a guy who could help us now and next year who we didn't have to overpay for, we'd be pursuing it," one member of the Mets' hierarchy said over the weekend. "But there aren't any perfect fits, or even good fits."
Mets an unlikely destination for Manny....
by Ken Rosenthal
OK, so now Manny Ramirez says that he's willing to waive his no-trade clause to leave the Red Sox.
The plot thickens. Maybe a little. Maybe a lot.
Ramirez would be more attractive in a trade if he did not require a contact extension or the exercising of his two $20 million option years.
In fact, all he might want to waive his no-trade clause is the assurance that his new team would make him a free agent at the end of the season.
If that's the case, his new team would get an extremely motivated player without needing to worry about paying him $20 million per year after this season.
That team also would get two premium draft picks once Ramirez departed as a free agent, helping replenish the talent it lost in the trade.
The Red Sox, given their distaste for Ramirez, might even be willing to pay part of his remaining salary — approximately $7 million — to get the right players in return.
The problem is, Ramirez's reputation is so far gone, all that still might not be enough to get him moved.
The Mets and Phillies have contacted the Red Sox about a possible deal, major-league sources say, but the Mets deny serious interest in Ramirez and the Phillies are even more of a longshot.
The plot thickens. Maybe a little. Maybe a lot.
Ramirez would be more attractive in a trade if he did not require a contact extension or the exercising of his two $20 million option years.
In fact, all he might want to waive his no-trade clause is the assurance that his new team would make him a free agent at the end of the season.
If that's the case, his new team would get an extremely motivated player without needing to worry about paying him $20 million per year after this season.
That team also would get two premium draft picks once Ramirez departed as a free agent, helping replenish the talent it lost in the trade.
The Red Sox, given their distaste for Ramirez, might even be willing to pay part of his remaining salary — approximately $7 million — to get the right players in return.
The problem is, Ramirez's reputation is so far gone, all that still might not be enough to get him moved.
The Mets and Phillies have contacted the Red Sox about a possible deal, major-league sources say, but the Mets deny serious interest in Ramirez and the Phillies are even more of a longshot.
Manny clears way for trade, but to where?....
