azdad1978
Championship!!!!
By Ed Price, Tribune
Richie Sexson filed Monday for free agency as his agent informed the Diamondbacks that their latest contract offer came up short.
"The proposal wasn’t satisfactory enough to say, ‘We’re close on this,’ " agent Casey Close said Monday.
D-Backs general manager Joe Garagiola Jr. declined to comment on his conversation with Close.
Filing for free agency, Close said, was just a formality. The Diamondbacks are still the only team that can discuss financial terms with Sexson before Nov. 11.
Now they apparently must decide whether to make an increased offer to Sexson or move on and spend their money elsewhere.
With free agency looming, the latest offer — a three-year deal structured to protect the team somewhat against a recurrence of the shoulder injury that limited Sexson to 23 games this year — may have been close to Arizona’s best.
"We’ll continue to have dialogue," Close said.
"Obviously, we’re seeking a guaranteed package that we feel is more commensurate with Richie’s talents and what we feel his health is today."
Arizona traded six players to Milwaukee for Sexson in the hopes that he could provide badly needed power. He hit nine homers and drove in 23 runs in his limited action.
Ken Kendrick, one of the controlling investors, said Arizona’s 2005 payroll is not set but that it would be comparable to those of the 2002 Anaheim Angels ($63 million) and the 2003 Florida Marlins ($48 million), teams which won the World Series.
"We’re going to be able to spend at that level or above," Kendrick said.
While the New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox and possibly the St. Louis Cardinals have interest in trading for ace Randy Johnson — and no one knows if Johnson wants out — Kendrick expressed a desire to keep Johnson.
"We’d love to have him stay," Kendrick said. "You certainly want to look at the ballclub and make sure we have the right mix of veterans and younger players. And we certainly hope Randy will be among them. Nobody is able to take his place, I think we all know that."
New manager Wally Backman said the team will target starting pitching, a center fielder and "somebody to compete for the shortstop job" in the offseason. Free agent Royce Clayton fits the latter category.
Outfielder Danny Bautista and reliever Mike Fetters also filed Monday for free agency, joining reliever Matt Mantei, outfielder Quinton McCracken, right-hander Steve Sparks, infielder Carlos Baerga, left-hander Jeff Fassero and right-hander Shane Reynolds from the Diamondbacks.
Infielder Greg Colbrunn and reliever Scott Service are eligible for free agency but have yet to file.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=30827
Richie Sexson filed Monday for free agency as his agent informed the Diamondbacks that their latest contract offer came up short.
"The proposal wasn’t satisfactory enough to say, ‘We’re close on this,’ " agent Casey Close said Monday.
D-Backs general manager Joe Garagiola Jr. declined to comment on his conversation with Close.
Filing for free agency, Close said, was just a formality. The Diamondbacks are still the only team that can discuss financial terms with Sexson before Nov. 11.
Now they apparently must decide whether to make an increased offer to Sexson or move on and spend their money elsewhere.
With free agency looming, the latest offer — a three-year deal structured to protect the team somewhat against a recurrence of the shoulder injury that limited Sexson to 23 games this year — may have been close to Arizona’s best.
"We’ll continue to have dialogue," Close said.
"Obviously, we’re seeking a guaranteed package that we feel is more commensurate with Richie’s talents and what we feel his health is today."
Arizona traded six players to Milwaukee for Sexson in the hopes that he could provide badly needed power. He hit nine homers and drove in 23 runs in his limited action.
Ken Kendrick, one of the controlling investors, said Arizona’s 2005 payroll is not set but that it would be comparable to those of the 2002 Anaheim Angels ($63 million) and the 2003 Florida Marlins ($48 million), teams which won the World Series.
"We’re going to be able to spend at that level or above," Kendrick said.
While the New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox and possibly the St. Louis Cardinals have interest in trading for ace Randy Johnson — and no one knows if Johnson wants out — Kendrick expressed a desire to keep Johnson.
"We’d love to have him stay," Kendrick said. "You certainly want to look at the ballclub and make sure we have the right mix of veterans and younger players. And we certainly hope Randy will be among them. Nobody is able to take his place, I think we all know that."
New manager Wally Backman said the team will target starting pitching, a center fielder and "somebody to compete for the shortstop job" in the offseason. Free agent Royce Clayton fits the latter category.
Outfielder Danny Bautista and reliever Mike Fetters also filed Monday for free agency, joining reliever Matt Mantei, outfielder Quinton McCracken, right-hander Steve Sparks, infielder Carlos Baerga, left-hander Jeff Fassero and right-hander Shane Reynolds from the Diamondbacks.
Infielder Greg Colbrunn and reliever Scott Service are eligible for free agency but have yet to file.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=30827
