Post by Gohan on Jan 29, 2005 12:49:23 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Sammy Sosa traded to the Orioles for Jerry Hairston and two minor leaguers.[/glow]
BALTIMORE -- The Orioles and Cubs have completed a deal that would send slugger Sammy Sosa to Baltimore for second baseman Jerry Hairston and two minor leaguers, according to a source close to the negotiations, pending physicals for Sosa and Hairston.
The Orioles had no official comment on the deal, but they are apparently on the verge of bringing one of baseball's premier power hitters to Baltimore. Sosa, who is in the Dominican Republic, is expected to come to Baltimore early next week for his physical.
Cubs general manager Jim Hendry on Friday night stopped far short of verifying that a trade had been completed, saying, "there's no deal in place."
Sosa is scheduled to earn $17 million in 2005, most of which would be paid by the Cubs, and he has an $18 million option for 2006 with a $4.5 million buyout. However, a clause in that contract states that if Sosa is traded during the deal, that the option becomes guaranteed and there is a $19 million option for 2007 that would include a $4.5 million buyout.
Sosa's agent, Adam Katz, has said that Sosa would waive that clause if he is traded.
Sosa had a difficult relationship with Cubs manager Dusty Baker and his numbers were down from his previous sparkling years. He has been on the trading block for months and the Orioles have been rumored to be interested, but had been scared off by Sosa's salary.
Hairston, reached in his Arizona home, said he was unaware that the deal had been official.
"I just came back home and turned on ESPN and saw it on TV," he said. "Rumors are rumors man, I don't know. I have heard of this for the past month. I am thinking maybe (talks) heated up because we didn't get Delgado.
"If it does go down, I want to thank everybody in Baltimore, (owner) Mr. (Peter) Angelos and the organization. I loved being an Oriole. If this was my last year, I enjoyed it. I had great teammates. I don't know if it's done or not."
Hairston grew up in Chicago and his father, Jerry Sr., played 14 years with the Chicago White Sox.
"If it were to happen. I grew up there, man," Hairston Jr. said. "I'd be going back home. I know the passion that city has for all sports. I know they got great fans there. And obviously that would be exciting. I know Baltimore has great fans, too. I just hope that both teams win."
Hairston has played his entire career with the Orioles and was the team's 11th-round pick 1997 out of Southern Illinois. He played four-plus seasons with Baltimore, but never quite reached his potential because of injuries. He missed most of the past two seasons with a broken foot, fractured ankle and fractured finger and that caused him to lose his second-base job to Brian Roberts.
He hit .261 in 530 games with the Orioles with 26 homers and 160 RBIs. He will have to compete with veteran Todd Walker for the second base job in Chicago.
The Orioles have been searching for an impact player after losing out on Richie Sexson and most recently Carlos Delgado, who signed a four-year, $52 million deal with the Florida Marlins on Tuesday.
Sosa would join Rafael Palmeiro as the third teammate duo to have at least 500 home runs. Willie McCovey and Willie Mays were together with the Giants and Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron with the Braves. Sosa has 574 career home runs.
He, along with Mark McGwire, were given credit for resurrecting fan interest in baseball with their amazing home run chase in 1998. Sosa, who hit 66 that season, was named the National League MVP. He hit 63 in 1999 and 64 in 2001, becoming the first player with multiple seasons of at least 60 home runs.
But the past two years has not been kind to Sosa, whose image has taken a big hit.
In 2003, he was suspended for using a corked bat and last season he was on the disabled list for a month with sprained back ligaments that occurred while sneezing. Finally, after the Cubs were eliminated from playoff contention, Sosa left Wrigley Field just 15 minutes after the first pitch of the season finale. He claimed he was in the clubhouse but a security videotape showed he left the park earlier.
Sosa is expected to play right field and Jay Gibbons would likely become the everyday first baseman.
Info from [glow=red,2,300]http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/index.jsp[/glow]
BALTIMORE -- The Orioles and Cubs have completed a deal that would send slugger Sammy Sosa to Baltimore for second baseman Jerry Hairston and two minor leaguers, according to a source close to the negotiations, pending physicals for Sosa and Hairston.
The Orioles had no official comment on the deal, but they are apparently on the verge of bringing one of baseball's premier power hitters to Baltimore. Sosa, who is in the Dominican Republic, is expected to come to Baltimore early next week for his physical.
Cubs general manager Jim Hendry on Friday night stopped far short of verifying that a trade had been completed, saying, "there's no deal in place."
Sosa is scheduled to earn $17 million in 2005, most of which would be paid by the Cubs, and he has an $18 million option for 2006 with a $4.5 million buyout. However, a clause in that contract states that if Sosa is traded during the deal, that the option becomes guaranteed and there is a $19 million option for 2007 that would include a $4.5 million buyout.
Sosa's agent, Adam Katz, has said that Sosa would waive that clause if he is traded.
Sosa had a difficult relationship with Cubs manager Dusty Baker and his numbers were down from his previous sparkling years. He has been on the trading block for months and the Orioles have been rumored to be interested, but had been scared off by Sosa's salary.
Hairston, reached in his Arizona home, said he was unaware that the deal had been official.
"I just came back home and turned on ESPN and saw it on TV," he said. "Rumors are rumors man, I don't know. I have heard of this for the past month. I am thinking maybe (talks) heated up because we didn't get Delgado.
"If it does go down, I want to thank everybody in Baltimore, (owner) Mr. (Peter) Angelos and the organization. I loved being an Oriole. If this was my last year, I enjoyed it. I had great teammates. I don't know if it's done or not."
Hairston grew up in Chicago and his father, Jerry Sr., played 14 years with the Chicago White Sox.
"If it were to happen. I grew up there, man," Hairston Jr. said. "I'd be going back home. I know the passion that city has for all sports. I know they got great fans there. And obviously that would be exciting. I know Baltimore has great fans, too. I just hope that both teams win."
Hairston has played his entire career with the Orioles and was the team's 11th-round pick 1997 out of Southern Illinois. He played four-plus seasons with Baltimore, but never quite reached his potential because of injuries. He missed most of the past two seasons with a broken foot, fractured ankle and fractured finger and that caused him to lose his second-base job to Brian Roberts.
He hit .261 in 530 games with the Orioles with 26 homers and 160 RBIs. He will have to compete with veteran Todd Walker for the second base job in Chicago.
The Orioles have been searching for an impact player after losing out on Richie Sexson and most recently Carlos Delgado, who signed a four-year, $52 million deal with the Florida Marlins on Tuesday.
Sosa would join Rafael Palmeiro as the third teammate duo to have at least 500 home runs. Willie McCovey and Willie Mays were together with the Giants and Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron with the Braves. Sosa has 574 career home runs.
He, along with Mark McGwire, were given credit for resurrecting fan interest in baseball with their amazing home run chase in 1998. Sosa, who hit 66 that season, was named the National League MVP. He hit 63 in 1999 and 64 in 2001, becoming the first player with multiple seasons of at least 60 home runs.
But the past two years has not been kind to Sosa, whose image has taken a big hit.
In 2003, he was suspended for using a corked bat and last season he was on the disabled list for a month with sprained back ligaments that occurred while sneezing. Finally, after the Cubs were eliminated from playoff contention, Sosa left Wrigley Field just 15 minutes after the first pitch of the season finale. He claimed he was in the clubhouse but a security videotape showed he left the park earlier.
Sosa is expected to play right field and Jay Gibbons would likely become the everyday first baseman.
Info from [glow=red,2,300]http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/index.jsp[/glow]