Projo Sports Blog

By Michael S. Schmidt
The New York Times

DANA POINT, Calif. - Manny Ramirez will turn 37 next season and is widely viewed as one of the great hitters in baseball as well as an amusing and confounding person when he does not have a bat in his hand.

As Ramirez enters the free-agent market this off-season, he is coming off an incredible two-month run with the Los Angeles Dodgers in which he propelled the team all the way to the National League Championship Series before it succumbed to the Philadelphia Phillies. The question throughout baseball is which team, in the wake of that Ramirez onslaught, is going to give him the lengthy and lavish contract that his agent, Scott Boras, is now seeking.

A few answers were revealed on Wednesday when Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti (right) said he had offered Ramirez a contract that would pay him the highest average annual salary in Dodgers history and the second-highest average annual salary in baseball, behind only the roughly $27 million that Alex Rodriguez is now making with the Yankees.

"He's someone we would like to have; we'd like to do it," Colletti said of working out a new deal with Boras and Ramirez. "And that's where we're at right now."

Boras has already signaled that he wanted a contract for Ramirez that would take him past age 40 and might last as long as six seasons. But the notion of giving Ramirez a lengthy deal will be daunting to any team even mildly interested in paying him a ton of money. There would be concerns about his age and his commitment to stay in shape as he becomes older, and there would be apprehension that he would ultimately find ways to test the patience of whatever team he is playing for.

Colletti would not say how many years he had included in the offer he has made, although it is unlikely that the years come close to what Boras is seeking. And he acknowledged that the bidding for Ramirez could play out for many weeks, since Boras often likes to extend negotiations as long as possible to attract more bidders and drive up the price.

"It does take time, and I've talked to Scott on Christmas, New Year's Eve and on major holidays," Colletti said in reference to past negotiations with the agent.

Over the past few days, Boras has argued that players like Ramirez pay for themselves because they generate higher television ratings and ticket sales. Colletti dismissed that notion.

"I think despite what people say, players don't pay for themselves," Colletti said.

While Colletti was making his offer for Ramirez, he also freed up additional money by declining the $8.75 million option for 2009 on Brad Penny, instead buying him out for $2 million. Penny, a 30-year-old starting pitcher who was often hurt in 2008 and went 6-9 with a 6.27 earned run average, will join a free-agent pool that includes the starters C.C. Sabathia, Derek Lowe and Oliver Perez.

Shortly before Colletti signaled his interest in keeping Ramirez at Chavez Ravine, Mets General Manager Omar Minaya made it clear to reporters that it was unlikely the Mets would try to recruit Ramirez for left field at Citi Field.

Minaya, more than any other general manager in baseball, had tried in recent seasons to work out a trade for Ramirez while he was a member of the Boston Red Sox. But Minaya's priorities now seem elsewhere, with the focus on improving the starting rotation and the bullpen.

"He's been a very good player, but what we need to address is our pitching before we can address other areas," Minaya said of Ramirez. "It's starting pitching and relief pitching."

If Minaya did sign Ramirez, he would have to play left field, where he is barely adequate at best. That, in turn, would bump Daniel Murphy, a converted infielder who took everyone by surprise with his hitting last season in his first stint in the major leagues. But where would Murphy play? He would probably be defensively overmatched in right field, and the Mets already have a right fielder in Ryan Church.

 Tags  free agency Los Angeles Dodgers Manny Ramirez Ned Colletti

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