Poor Manny
Now that Mark Teixeira has signed his huge contract, the biggest free agent slugger available is Manny Ramirez. You would think that Manny would be thrilled to be the lone marquee bat left, but Ramirez is not a happy man these days. That’s because the market for his services couldn’t be any smaller.
His former team, the Dodgers, have already pulled their two-year, $45 million offer, although they remain interested in keeping Ramirez. Meanwhile, another potential suitor, the Yankees are seemingly out of the running now that they have signed Teixeira. Manny’s agent, Scott Boras, had hoped to start a bidding war between the Yankees and Dodgers. That’s unlikely to happen now.
Last week, Angels owner Arte Moreno told the media that his team would not make Ramirez an offer, thereby eliminating another possible bidder.
The New York Mets, who need a big righthanded bat and a leftfielder, are another team not making an offer. Mets GM Omar Minaya is a huge Manny fan but he’s been unable to convince owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon to put aside concerns about Manny’s character to make an offer.
This brings us back to last summer and Manny’s departure from Boston. It began as Manny asking out of the lineup against the Yankees and then faking a knee injury to remain out of the lineup. Many believed that Ramirez was upset because the Red Sox hadn’t activated Manny’s $20 million option for the 2009 season. Eventually, Ramirez sulked his way out of Boston to the Dodgers. We know the rest of the story:
Manny hit over .350 and led the Dodgers to the playoffs. He hit several postseason home runs and everyone figured he had set himself up beautifully for a massive contract this winter.
As other free agents began to receive offers, the calls for Ramirez weren’t coming. Many general managers admitted they were turned off by the mercenary-like behavior of Ramirez last summer. Ramirez grew so frustrated that he threatened retirement if he didn’t receive a good offer. Of course, that is pure posturing.
Ramirez created this situation and a “perfect storm” of diminishing returns has created a dead market for his services. At this point, he needs to approach the Dodgers and reopen discussions. The Dodgers would be smart not to return to their original offer. Some speculation out of Los Angeles says that the Dodgers are hesitant to make an offer because of the distinct possibility that they will get an unhappy and unproductive Ramirez playing for them.
The most recent rumors are that Boras may seek a one-year contract so that Ramirez can return to free agency next winter after a successful 2009 campaign.
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