Think the Red Sox are determined to come back next season and contend for a World Series. Looks like it to me, after it was revealed that the team has placed slugger Manny Ramirez on irrevocable waivers. Jack Curry of the New York Times explains:
If more than one club claims Ramirez, the club with the poorer record will have the right to him. So, if the Yankees, who tied with the Atlanta Braves for the best record in the majors this season, are interested, they will have to hope no other teams make claims.While putting players on waivers is a formality that happens hundreds of times during the season, both executives said the timing of Boston's decision was unusual and signals that the team is serious about moving forward without Ramirez. Dan Duquette, who was dismissed as the general manager in 2002, signed Ramirez to the contract before the 2001 season. Ramirez is the second-highest-paid player in baseball, behind Alex Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers.
"I guess they're hoping someone takes him," one of the baseball executives said.
As others have noted, the Red Sox have plenty of players to sign in the offseason if they want to bring back the team that came within an inning of going to the World Series. Looks like the way to do that is get rid of Ramirez, and take the money they save and invest it in a number of players who can replace his production in the aggregate.
Sounds like a Sabremetric move to me. And a gutsy one as well. I'll be checking in with all the Red Sox blogs to gauge reaction a little later.
POSTSCRIPT: Is the Yankees braintrust still in Tampa? If they are, this is going to land like a bombshell, and is sure to set George Steinbrenner off like a Roman Candle. Could this be a diabolical plot to saddle the Yankees with a massive contract for a player about to enter declining years of production?
Say what you want about John Henry, Larry Lucchino and Theo Epstein, but they're all scary-smart. I think there's more to this than just gettting rid of a massive salary.
UPDATE: Stuff is beginning to pour in:
Bryant Durrell sees a hidden agenda:
That
I was just about to blog this – heard it on the radio on the way in this morning. Quite surprising, and I’m not sure if it’s a bad move. As a Yankee fan, I’m not sure if I’d like them to try and pick him up – mainly because he’s a head case. Secondarily because I’d have no one to yell at in LF when I went to games where he was a visitor.
Otherwise, he’s a monster player and this could be a huge opportunity for a team to pick him up – if they had the loot. I’d look for the Mets, for one, and some of the West Coast teams to look at him. the NL is an interesting idea for him, as he can’t DH, but the Dodgers could be interested because of Jordan filing for FA, and the Bravos might look to replace a Gary Sheffield. Though they have Chipper out in left.