ESPN.com is reporting that the Florida Marlins have come to terms with shortstop Hanley Ramirez on a six year extension reportedly worth $70 million.

Ramirez who has played absolutely lights out since entering the big leagues and winning the Rookie of the Year award in 2006, would have been eligible for arbitration and would have undoubtedly gotten a HUGE raise from the $439,000 he’s being paid this year.

The deal will be the largest ever given by the Marlins and will lock Ramirez up at an affordable price for the next six years, including the 2011 season when the Marlins hope to open their new stadium.

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The San Diego Padres have released veteran outfielder Jim Edmonds. The 37 year old Gold-Glover was acquired in the offseason from the St. Louis Cardinals along with $2 million in exchange for third base prospect David Freese. While Edmonds’ health concerns were a well known issue, the outfielder’s lack of production seemed to surprise the Padres and most of the rest of the baseball world. Those of us who had watched Jimmy for the past few years probably saw this day coming and I personally would have preferred it if Edmonds had retired after the 2006 season when his previous contract expired

In his prime, no one played a better center field or made more amazing plays in the outfield. I’ll always remember the Edmonds home run in the 2004 NLCS against Houston in the 12th inning to send the series to game 7 (which the Cardinals would eventually win for their first trip to the World Series in my adult life). I’ve watched many games at Busch Stadium but I’m not sure I’ve ever heard it as loud as it was in that moment.

It appears unlikely that another team will take a flier on the injury prone body of Edmonds and this release could very well mark the end of the Edmonds erra.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates have released veteran starting pitcher Matt Morris despite owing the hurler more than $9 million. Morris, who was acquired by the Pirates last year at the trade deadline, was off to a horrible start this year going 0-4 with an ERA over 9. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he failed to get out of the 5th inning in any of his starts, putting a huge burden on the Pirates bullpen.

With several still unsigned free agent pitchers on the market, it’s unlikely Morris will receive an offer from another team. The pitcher seems to resigned to that fact telling ESPN:

“I’ve accepted it. It was a great segment of my life. I really can’t wait to move on and be with my family. It’s a sad day, but it’s also a joyful day. … I’m proud of my career. I didn’t mean or want for it to end this way. I’ve always said the other team will let you know when you’re done.

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The Cincinnati Reds have fired General Manager Wayne Krivsky and replaced him with former Cardinals GM, Walt Jockety. The move apparently came as a surprise to Krivsky although he’s probably the only one. The writing was on the wall when Jockety, the former St. Louis Cardinals GM, was hired on as a special assistant in January.

The Reds are off to a horrible start and haven’t been competitive for the last decade but the team now has proven winners in both the manager (Dusty Baker) and general manager (Jockety) roles. As a Cardinal fan, I’m not looking forward to having to compete with a Jockety built club year in and year out but it’s hard to argue he wasn’t the best man for the job.

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ESPN.com is reporting that Boston Red Sox centerfielder Coco Crisp will ask the team to trade him if he does not win the starting job. Crisp was a starter last year but struggled at the plate while rookie Jacoby Ellsbury came on late batting an .353 over 25 games and then became a post season star by batting .375 over the final 6 games after replacing a struggling Crisp.

Crisp’s name had also been mentioned several times in different trade rumors this offseason, most notably during the Red Sox’ failed negotiations with the Twins to land Johan Santana. Whether the trade rumors affected Crisp’s opinion of his situation in Boston or not, he made his position known in an interview today.

“He was hot and I was struggling at that time, so you got to put who’s hot and who’s doing the best out there offensively. So I understood it,” Crisp said of his benching during the playoffs. However,  “I would honestly rather be somewhere else and play than be on the bench,” he said. “But I’ll take whatever comes and deal with it and no knock against Boston. I love the fans. They treated me well.”

The Chicago Cubs and possibly even the Twins could be contenders for Crisp if the Sox do decide to move the outfielder but there is plenty more to come before this drama is finished.

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The New York Mets have reportedly landed All Star pitcher Johan Santana in exchange for 4 top tier prospects. Santana still has to approve the trade due to his no trade clause, however, it’s expected that he will do so once the Mets agree to a contract extension for the Cy Young award winner. The Mets and Santana have an open negotiating window until 5pm Friday and I’d expect to see a monster deal (7+ years, for well over $100 million) come from those talks.

For giving up arguably the best pitcher in the game, the Twins will receive pitchers Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey, Deolis Guerra, and center fielder Carlos Gomez. The Mets certainly paid a steep price but GM Omar Minaya had promised to acquire a top flight starter to anchor the suddenly shaky Mets rotation. If Pedro Martinez is able to return to form, the Mets will have two very imposing pitchers at the top of their rotation to go with youngsters John Maine and Oliver Perez (another southpaw).
Edit: Not sure why I had it in my head Pedro was a lefty but as a reader pointed out, he is indeed right handed.

The deal finally puts an end to months of speculation, primarily involving the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Both teams had been viewed as front runners to land the star at one time, however, neither team would give the Twins quite what they wanted, especially to trade their star to another American League team.

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The Seattle Mariners have recalled hot shot outfielder Adam Jones from his Winter League team in Venezuela. Jones has long been rumored to be the centerpiece of a deal to send left-handed ace Eric Bedard from the Baltimore Orioles to the Mariners.

While Orioles president, Andy McPhail denied reports that an agreement had been reached, Jones spoke freely with  ESPNdeportes about the deal saying:

“I feel comfortable in Seattle, but I will assume my trade to Baltimore as another challenge. I’m in the best moment of my life, although it will be strange to start with a new organization again. I will do it in spring training. Ultimately, I will be playing baseball, as always.”

The deal would have to include other prospects heading from the M’s to the O’s with pitcher Chris Tillman and infielder Carlos Triunfel being likely candidates. The deal for Bedard would also likely have a domino effect by allowing the Orioles to shift their focus to the other deal they’ve been working on for quite a while, sending second baseman Brian Roberts to the Chicago Cubs. More as it becomes available…

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The Colorado Rockies have agreed to a two year deal with MVP runner up (and in my book, the more deserving player) Matt Holliday. The deal is reportedly worth $23 million over the two years and keeps the team from having to fight the player in an arbitration hearing. While arbitration used to be fairly common, teams are more and more trying to avoid the situation which can at times embitter the player and damage the relationship for the long term.

However, the deal will also allow Holliday a chance at a HUGE free agent pay day at the age of 30 if he continues to put up numbers like his .340 batting average, 36 home runs, and 137 RBI from last year.

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Several major league sources are reporting that the St. Louis Cardinals and the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to swap their starting third basemen. The Cardinals would be sending disgruntled Scott Rolen and likely some cash to Toronto in exchange for Troy Glaus. Both third basemen have a history of hitting for power and are former All Stars, but both had their reasons for wanting to leave.

Rolen also publicly feuded with manager Tony LaRussa and asked for a trade earlier this off season. Glaus was seeking a move away from Toronto’s tough astroturf to a natural playing surface. He’s been bothered by foot injuries and is hoping a softer surface will help him return to form.

Neither player played exceptionally well last year and both missed significant time to injury. Rolen batted just .265 with only 8 home runs in 112 games while Glaus hit .262 with 20 home runs in only 115 games. The amount of money changing hands is still unknown and will largely determine which team comes out ahead on this trade. Glaus is due only $24 million over the next two years while Rolen is due $33 million over the next three.

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USA Today reports that the Reds have signed former Cardinal GM Walt Jockety as a special adviser to club president and CEO Bob Castellini. Reds fans must be hoping that he gives Castellini the kind of advice that allowed the Cards to win 6 division titles and one World Series over the past 13 years.

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