Ken Rosenthal rumors on Fox Radio (Rolen, Blalock, Cuba's Ramirez)

[Madtown Bomber]

Rosenthal was just on Fox Sports Radio and I will give you the quick rundown.

 

First stated that Johan Santana talk to Boston is back on. Inorder to make it work for Minnesota there needs to be a second team that gets involved to force Boston to add a package that includes Ellsbury and Lester otherwise there will be no deal.

 

He then talked about the Rolen/La Russa issue. Said there are basically 4 teams involved for Scott Rolen and they were Milwaukee, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and an unidentified mystery team. Said Rolen has let it be known he would like to remain in the midwest but at this point would waive no trade to a team he thought he could contribute to and win. Didn't think that St. Louis was in any rush to trade him but would be done before spring camp.

 

The next issue he hit was the likelyhood of Detroit trying to flip Dontrelle Willis and possibly Pudge for some younger pitching help in both the rotation and bullpen. The thought is that the New York Mets might become a major player before all is said and done.

 

Cuban defector Alexei Ramirez is close to establishing citizenship in the Dominican Republic and would then set his sights on picking a team to latch onto. Scouts believe that he will be the best positional player to come to the US. Known as the Cuban Homerun king he will come here and compete in the middle of the infield or centerfield. The top 5 teams that have expressed the most intrest to Ramirez's agent Torres have been the New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, and St. Louis Cardinals.

 

The Texas Rangers have been very quiet so far and that is suprising. However the thought is that they are playing really hard to get right now with a lot of their players. Have thrown Hank Blalock out there on the market but won't get any takers until the Rangers get realistic with what they want. He didn't say anything about any specific teams or any hints the Brewers would be interested.

 

Another team that has remained quiet but could errupt anytime is the Chicago White Sox. They traded Garland early on but still haven't addressed any of the issues they needed to address. They continue to be in the mix for offensive infielder, outfielder, and bullpen help. Bobby Jenks was available for discussions at the winter meetings but nobody even asked.

 

He specifically said the Brewers have gone out and helped themselves the most by adding power arms to a bullpen that needed help. Said that all of them with the exception of Riske are guys who if struggle can be off the books in 2008 when power arms in the minors could be ready. Still gave a slight edge to the Cubs however because many feel that Fukadome dude is going there and he could be a huge upgrade.

[sbrylski]

Connected to Alexei Ramirez!? Awesome. I suppose, he's got the same agent as Yohannis Perez.

 

While unlikely, I'd be cool with trying him out in CF... What kind of contract is he looking at getting?

[trwi7]

So Rolen wants to go to a team that he can contribute to and help win? I think that takes the Giants out and I still don't think he wants to re-unite with Bowa in Los Angeles so it's up to us and the "mystery team."

 

Oh and Alexei Ramirez? Yes please I'll take him.

[brettac1]

I didn't even realize Ramirez was coming over this year.

[sbrylski]

I didn't even realize Ramirez was coming over this year.

Me neither, I had to double check. He's gotten very little press, compared to the Japanese guys.

[brewers255]

Does anyone know where I can find stats or what scouts have to say about Rameriz? And how good is he supposed to be?

[yoshii8]

Here is a decent report on Alexei Ramirez. http://bjarkmanlatinobaseball.mlblogs.com/bjarkmans_latinocuban_lea/2007/09/index.html

[colbyjack]

Ramirez was talked about a little bit in the International Free Agent thread on the minor league forum. He's a very good overall athlete that has the ability to play the infield and the outfield. Scouts seem to be split on where he can play, as I think if he can play SS a team would prefer to put him there then in right field, where he profiles the best given his very strong and accurate arm.

 

He is a very good natural hitter and is expected to hit for a high average. While his power potential is believed to be average at best, he did lead the Cuban league in home runs last season. He also has very good speed.

 

Here's a link to some video of him via YouTube:

 

 

I'm excited to hear the Brewers mentioned as one of the teams actively pursuing him.

[GAME05]

boy, he sounds like both the OBP guy and the 3rd baseman we've been looking for. curious what sort of salary an unknown player like that would demand.

[TooLiveBrew]

Is there a good comparison for Ramirez? As in, position player with a high-OBP & average (MLB) power who came to the U.S. & made a big-league camp out of spring training? I'm just curious how to expect/guess his play to translate to MLB.

 

It sounds like his fielding is quite good, but what kind of dip (if any) could be expected in his offense? I noticed in the video colby linked that the LF/CF wall he cleared was listed at 345' - not exactly PetCo.

[RyDogg66]

Hopefully NOT Yohannis Perez.

[Madtown Bomber]

I don't know much about the foreign players but is Ramirez a better option then trading for Rolen or Blalock?

[sbrylski]

I don't know much about the foreign players but is Ramirez a better option then trading for Rolen or Blalock?

BIG risk, but he is young (26), talented, and could pretty much play anywhere on the diamond. He hit .335 with 20 HR last season in Cuba, but I've also heard that league compared statistically to high A ball, FWIW.

 

I don't know a whole lot about Ramirez either (I don't think anyone does really - he has no listed weight, height, or handedness that I can find. In the video he hits the HR from the right side, but possibly a switch.), but I'd guess he'd likely start in on an organization's AAA team to prove himself, though apparently has the potential to be a big league star.

 

I doubt we are in a financial position to take a shot on him, though I haven't seen any contract estimates.

 

[hp2444]

Aren't international free agents usually way over priced? I just think going that route is too big of a risk for the brewers.

[Jarjohm]

I don't know a whole lot about Ramirez either (I don't think anyone does really - he has no listed weight, height, or handedness that I can find. In the video he hits the HR from the right side, but possibly a switch.), but I'd guess he'd likely start in on an organization's AAA team to prove himself, though apparently has the potential to be a big league star.

 

He is 6'1", 170 pounds and throws and hits right handed, according to MLB.com: Alexei Ramirez.

[TooLiveBrew]

yoshii's link in post #6 has a decent write-up on him. It's a bit convoluted, but worth the sifting if you're really curious about Ramirez. Fwiw, the scout seems to be quite fond of him.

[igor67]

I'm curious, but I'm really tired of Cuban prospects when it comes down to it. Since Livan who has been at all worth anything? And each is better than the last. El Duque was OK as well, but none of the position players have been worth anything.

[ILuvDaBush]

He could be a Cuban Ichiro! But seriously, I like that we're being mentioned as taking this route. We should be getting involved in the international market, as it seems to be a decent source of talent, without draft slotting, and it doesn't have the competition of the draft, either. Imagine if the kid were to be put in center and he added 25lb. of muscle (though rare at 26). Brady Anderson could be his personal trainer.

[Hammer]

Imagine if the kid were to be put in center and he added 25lb. of muscle (though rare at 26). Brady Anderson could be his personal trainer.

I really don't think that adding 15-20 lbs of muscle is really out of the question though if he came to the US and had quality food, training and league-approved chemicals. Even though they worship their baseball players in Cuba I'm sure they do not get the type of help in the gym or at the table that the US born and raised players get...

[colbyjack]

Kendry Morales and Yuniesky Betancourt are two Cuban positional players that I can think of that have enjoyed some success in the big-leagues in recent years. I say some success because Morales is still very young and improved quite a bit from 2006 to 2007 in limited playing time. Betancourt too is young, and if he ever learns to draw a walk his D' and respectable power from the SS position could make him a nice overall player.

 

In reference to money, Morales signed a 6-year deal worth about $10M with a $3M signing bonus, while Betancourt signed a 4-year $2.826 deal when he came to the states ($1.31M signing bonus) and recently a 4-year extension worth $13.75M ($1.5M signing bonus). I think that's a pretty good gauge of what to expect for Ramirez, and if he expects more than that, forget about it.

 

However, Ramirez should not be signed to fill a current hole, unless you have the highest recommendation from a scout you trust more than anyonee. As Sam mentioned, such a player should get some time in the minors, even at the AA level, to get them accustomed to playing ball in the states so you're not completely setting them up to fail by throwing them into the big-leagues. I know his agent has said he's ready for the big-leagues, but it was also said at one point in time that Yohannis Perez could compete for a big-league job.

[kmcasper23]

Fukodome is overrated! Just another Hidecki Matsui! Will be nothing more than oridinary vs MLB pitching!

[Dogger192003]

Adding to Rosenthal's Rumors, in his latest column (I think) he says that the Giants are after Bill Hall. Possible match there is with Winn plus young pitcher for Hall. Although now that Melvin has added back some payroll I'm not sure Winn's 8 Mill plus salary is a fit. Hall's name has come up numerous times on rumor threads so sorry if it's covered elsewhere.

[endaround]

Hall is worth so much more than Winn its not even funny. Unless that pitcher's name is Cain, no thank you.

[dadofandrew]

Just another Hidecki Matsui! Will be nothing more than oridinary vs MLB pitching!

 

Heh.

 

I think the Cubs would be giddy with anything close to Matsui's numbers. .375/.500...that's pretty much what we hope for from Corey Hart, isn't it?

[Madtown Bomber]

According to Buster Olney that mystery team after Scott Rolen is now known to be the Cleveland Indians.