November 11, 2006
Ramirez Set Free
It looks like Aramis Ramirez and the Chicago Cubs failed to reach an agreement.
Third baseman Aramis Ramirez will test free agency, FOXSports.com has learned, creating yet another hole for a team that already had planned to pursue two starting pitchers, an outfield slugger, a center fielder and maybe a second baseman.
The Cubs' period of exclusivity with Ramirez expires at midnight Eastern time on Saturday. They can still re-sign him, but Ramirez is certain to attract heavy interest from the Angels and other clubs.
Think maybe now the Cubs regret giving Ramirez an escape clause rather than additional money in the four-year, $42 million deal he signed at the start of the 2005 season?
If the Cubs had increased the size of that contract, say, by an additional $10 million, Ramirez almost certainly would have dropped his demand for the out clause. The Cubs then would have kept him through '08 at a significantly lesser salary than the one they offered -- and Ramirez rejected -- in their latest talks.
The only bright side for the Cubs -- if you're looking for positive spin -- is that the elimination of Ramirez's $22.5 million guarantee over the next two seasons will better enable the team to add pitching and sign a major free-agent hitter such as Alfonso Soriano.
Ramirez turned out to be more consistently good than he played with Pittsburgh. That's made him more valuable, and probably contributed to him taking the escape clause.