Dodgers Make (New) Offer To Ramirez

The Manny sweepstakes might finally be coming to an end. After a two and a half hour meeting between the Dodgers' general manager, chairman and Ramirez’s infamous agent, Scott Boras, one thing is certain—the Dodgers don’t want to offer any more than two years. The formal offer the Dodgers made was two years and $45 million—$25 million the first year and $20 million for the second. This sounds awfully similar to the first contract offer the Dodgers made to Manny which also included a third-year option of $15 million. The third-year option was dropped for the new deal and Boras wanted the second year to be a player option so Ramirez could leave for free agency after the first season if he wanted to.

So the Dodgers didn’t give in to Manny’s demands of a minimum four-year deal. The way it’s turning out, the Dodgers’ decision looks like a good one. No other team is actively looking to sign Ramirez (although the Giants might give it a shot if the Dodgers drop out of consideration). So Manny is really at the mercy of the Dodgers. It looks as if two years and $45 million is the best he is going to get.

With neither side looking to give in and the season approaching fast, it looks like Manny has less and less power to demand what he wants. The Dodgers are standing firm to their two-year offer and it’s just a matter of time before Manny signs his name at the bottom. It looks like that’s just how the market turned out this year for baseball: players asking for too much money while teams are trying harder to limit spending. Because of this, it just seems like Manny is out of options, except for that second year on his soon to be contract.