2000 – Free agent Sandy Alomar Jr. agrees to a $5.4 million, two-year deal with the White Sox. The former Indians catcher will replace Charles Johnson, who earlier in the day signed to a $35 million, five-year contract with the Marlins.
2000 – City and club officials announce plans for the financing and construction of a new, downtown Miami retractable roof ballpark for the Marlins. The state-of-the-art $385 million stadium, which will be a 40,000-seat facility with 60 luxury suites, includes a 40-year lease and an agreement to rename the team the “Miami Marlins”. The deal will soon run into snags and the stadium will not be built for another decade, however.
The Red Sox sign free agent P Hideo Nomo to a contract.
2000 – Reliever Mike Jackson is inked to a free agent contract. The native Houstonian fashions a 5-3 record with four saves in his one season as an Astro.
The Chicago White Sox obtain shortstop Royce Clayton from the Texas Rangers in exchange for pitchers Aaron Myette and Brian Schmack. Clayton became expendable after the signing of Alex Rodriguez.
St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Fernando Tatis and pitcher Britt Reames are traded to the Montreal Expos for pitchers Dustin Hermanson and Steve Kline.
In the wake of the Alex Rodriguez deal, the Rangers send Royce Clayton to the White Sox for right-handed pitchers Aaron Myette and Brian Schmack. The former Texas shortstop displaced by the team’s acquisition of A-Rod will bat .258 during his two-year tenure on the South Side of the Windy City.
The Cardinals trade third baseman Fernando Tatis and right-hander Britt Reames to the Expos for right-handed starter Dustin Hermanson and left-hander closer Steve Kline. The Redbirds’ new southpaw reliever will appear in more than half of the team’s games next season, posting a 3-3 record along with nine saves in his league-leading 89 trips to the mound.
On December 12, 2000 Alex Rodriguez signs the richest contract in sports history, a ten-year deal with the Rangers worth $252 million. The quarter billion dollars doubles the previous high of $126 million paid by the NBA’s Timberwolves to Kevin Garnett in a six-year agreement signed in October, 1997. He will nearly get traded to…
Outbidding the Indians, the Red Sox sign free-agent Manny Ramirez to a reported eight-year, $160 million contract. The very lucrative deal pales in comparison to Alex Rodriguez’s $252 million ten-year agreement with the Rangers, which is also announced today.