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CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira will receive a lot of attention as they head into free agency at the conclusion of the World Series, but no name is bigger than that of the highly-coveted Manny Ramirez.
Ramirez earned close to $19 million in 2008, making him the fourth-highest paid player in all of Major League Baseball. The only players that deposited more money in their back accounts were a trio of Yankees – Alex Rodriguez ($28M), Jason Giambi ($23.4M) and Derek Jeter ($21.6M).
After lighting up the National League during his 61 games with the Dodgers, Manny should make more than Sabathia and far more than Teixeira when pen is put to paper on his next contract.
It's very rare that a player of his caliber, and with such a significant history of success, becomes available to so many teams. Manny hasn’t just performed well in the postseason – he holds the record for most playoff home runs with 28 – but he has been one of the most consistent hitters of his generation.
He hasn’t hit under .292 since 1994, his first full season in the Majors, and has sent more than 35 balls out of the park in twelve of his fifteen full campaigns.
Manny’s numbers with the Dodgers, .396 with 17 home runs and 53 RBI in just 53 regular season games, show just how dangerous the much-maligned slugger can be when both focused and motivated.
The left fielder helped lead the Red Sox to a pair of World Series titles (in 2004 and 2007) after the team endured an 86-year title drought. In the '04 World Series, a four-game sweep of the Cardinals, Ramirez hit .412 with four RBI and an on-base percentage of .500.
Last fall, when Boston rallied to win three-straight against Cleveland in the ALCS, Manny hit .409 and had a .563 on-base percentage with 10 RBI in seven games.
His October success wasn't just a product of Fenway Park or the American League either. He had his best postseason ever, statistically, this month for Los Angeles.
In the Dodgers’ three-game sweep of the heavily-favored Cubs, Manny hit .500 with a pair of home runs and four walks. The team may have checked out after just five games in the NLCS, but his personal success continued. He hit .533, had a .682 on-base percentage and an astounding 1.067 slugging percentage.
If his regular season numbers weren’t enough for potential suitors, his combined numbers in Boston and L.A. were: .332/.430/.601 with 37 homers and 121 RBI, then his postseason highlight reel certainly has teams cutting in line just for the opportunity to talk to him.
Maybe he was trying to prove he still has it heading into a pivotal offseason. Maybe he was looking to embarrass the Red Sox for trading him. Or perhaps things just fell in line for Manny towards the end of this season.
It doesn’t matter how, or why, he dominated nearly every pitcher he faced from the end of July on, because he has ensured himself a rather large payday.
The question is – how does the team that drops $25 million on a single player guarantee that they’ll get the locked-in version of Ramirez and not the sometimes flaky, dominant on a day-to-day basis left fielder that Boston ultimately tired of?
It’s uncommon for a player of Manny’s caliber to have to justify why he’s worth more than the entire Marlins’ payroll (just ask A-Rod), but perhaps interested teams should begin warming agent Scott Boras to the idea of an incentive-laden deal.
Manny is the type of player that can probably wake up, drive to the ballpark and go 2-for-4 without even taking batting practice, but what’s wrong with giving the 36-year-old a little motivation as his enters his twilight years, when he might need to start preparing more in order to maintain his established level of play?
I’m not talking about a $10 million base salary before incentives, but maybe something in the $16-18 million range with the ability to make as much as $24-26 mil, right around his projected market value.
A $17 million base, with $1 million incentives would likely keep Manny from "being Manny" and getting complacent on his team.
Let’s say a team offers Manny $17 million in guaranteed money per season. They could easily then tack on six-to-eight incentive amendments to push his potential income into the mid-twenties.
In case any of the dozens of general mangers that will be vying for Manny are having creative difficulties, I’ve come up with eight $1M incentive clauses that are fair for both #99 (or #24 if you hail from Quincy) and whoever is paying him come spring training.
Clause #1: Hit Over .320 Ramirez is a .314 career-hitter and has hit above .320 in seven of his fifteen seasons. After hitting .396 for the Dodgers, many teams will be expecting an even higher average from the left fielder (or designated hitter).
Clause #2: Post OBP Over .400 This one shouldn’t be difficult for Manny, but it will force him to remain selective and keep his above-average eye as his gets older. He has had an on-base percentage higher than .400 in nine of his seasons, but was at .398 before Boston send him out West minutes before July 31st’s trade deadline.
Clause #3: SLG Over .600 Manny was second to Albert Pujols (.653) with a .601 slugging percentage in 2008. Only twice in his career has he had a slugging percentage under .500 (1993 and 2007) and he had the mark at .743 with the Dodgers during the regular season.
Clause #4: Hit 35 HRs, Drive In 115 Ramirez is one of the best hitters with runners in scoring position, and an established home run machine with more than 500 for his career. All this clause would ask to him to do is maintain his average production (excluding the 22 games he played in 1993) of 35 homers and 115 runs batted in per season.
Clause #5: Score 100 Runs He has only scored 100 runs on six occasions, and this will be a difficult one for Manny because he’ll have to rely on his teammates to drive him in. However, it will also force him to remain aware on the base pads, resulting in more hustle and fewer 5.7 second trips to first base.
Clause #6: Play In 130 Games This clause could be either the easiest, or hardest for Manny to reach. If he remains healthy, as he has for a majority of his career, he’ll add another $1 million to his account. However, a significant injury could take this entirely out of his hands. With that said, this should force him to take the field with minor injuries and be productive as often as possible.
Clause #7: Post FPCT Over .980 Ramirez was often made fun of for his fielding in Boston, but in actuality he’s far from a poor defensive left fielder. He has a .978 fielding percentage for his career, but has been over .990 on several occasions. If a team were to ask him to properly field more than 98% of the balls he should catch, they’d also have to ensure he’d get enough time in left to post a percentage that accurately depicts his fielding.
Clause #8: Make The Postseason We know Manny is gold once he makes it to the postseason, but getting there isn’t easy in the Majors. This incentive would ensure that he would remain a solid teammate through the season, providing advice to younger players while making everyone around him better. A number of the teams that are expected to make strong plays for Manny are already playoff-caliber clubs, so this could be another easy million.
I know giving a first-ballot Hall of Famer a deal laced with incentives, which also has a base salary far below his worth, might seem both risky and downright ridiculous. But in today’s economy, no purchase can be taken lightly.
Especially when dropping $25 million on a 36-year-old named Manuel.
Author's Note: Major League Rule 3(b)(5) states that no contract will be approved "if it contains a bonus for playing, pitching or batting skill..."
With that said, the Yankees offered Alex Rodriguez a revenue sharing package in his 10-year extension last fall that pays the third baseman additional money should he break baseball's all-time home run record.
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM.com. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail – Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com.
