Dodgers Rumors

10:18pm: Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle comments on the "comical circus surrounding the Manny Ramirez negotiations."

Sometime soon, Jenkins writes, "Manny will stroll into the Dodgers’ clubhouse with a big smile on his face, as if nothing in the world is wrong. I wonder if his teammates will portray him as they did last year, the wacky savior who really isn’t such a bad guy. Now that he’ll be getting an opt-out for the 2010 season, he’s merely a mercenary waiting to get a real offer from a team that truly appreciates him."

5:43pm: Jackson cites a "well-placed source" who says that Boras responded to the Dodgers’ two-year, $45MM offer with a counter proposal of two years and $55MM.

Jackson also writes that "it was Boras, not the Dodgers, who requested as far back as last fall that a portion of the money be deferred so that the total value of the package could be greater."

Jackson notes that there is currently no offer on the table and that "it doesn’t look like this is headed for a quick resolution."

4:42pm: Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com got a hold of Boras shortly after the noon deadline.

"I told Ned that we stand by our proposal," Boras told Bloom. "As far as we’re concerned, there’s no deadline. We’re still talking… We’re waiting for their response."

Boras made a counter offer to the Dodgers this morning, requesting a two-year, $45MM contract without the deferred payments.

3:31pm: Jackson reports that Colletti and Boras spoke on the phone around noon, but nothing came of it.  It sounds like that deadline wasn’t taken too seriously by either side.

2:47pm: The noon deadline has passed (on the West Coast) without word from Boras, Manny or the Dodgers.

2:01pm: Giants managing partner Bill Neukom spoke to reporters, including the San Jose Mercury News’ Andrew Baggarly, on Friday morning.  He left open the possibility of his club making a late run at Ramirez.  Neukom also believes there are teams involved other than the Dodgers and Giants:

“We’ve been in touch with Manny and his agent for months about this,” Neukom said. “We’ve explored a number of situations. I think by far the Dodgers have been more active. Then there are these other teams Boras has talked about. We’re not a phantom team. There are other teams that haven’t been named that are in this. So we’ll see.”

1:15pm: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, Manny is willing to accept the Dodgers’ most recent offer if the money is not deferred.  Most of you have probably already assumed this.

12:16pm: GM Ned Colletti told Jackson that deferred compensation has been "part of the deal from the very beginning."  It was even part of the Dodgers’ initial one-year, $25MM offer.

It sounds like there’s a lot of confusion on both sides. "I have asked Scott many times to tell us where we are at, what we are bidding against, to tell us what we have to meet," Colletti said Friday morning.  "We have yet to be told what the parameters are.”

11:35am: Yahoo! Sports’ Steve Henson passes along an e-mail that Boras sent to multiple media outlets Thursday night:

“We are continuing to work within the scope of the parameters established during our discussion Wednesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, which included a two-year term and ability for the player to void the contract after the first year.

“Per that face-to-face meeting, we agreed to continue to have discussions until Friday at noon, which included our two proposals today, our most recent at two years, $45 million. We are waiting to hear their response.”

11:19am: Tony Jackson of the Los Angeles Daily News is venting:

The wonder is that the Dodgers wasted their time making an offer that they HAD TO KNOW wouldn’t be accepted. Why would they do that, you ask? Well, now Frank McCourt gets to say to his fan base, "Hey, I tried.” Well, no, Frank, you really didn’t.

9:21am: According to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, deferred payments were the key issue in Manny Ramirez’s rejection of the Dodgers’ most recent offer.  As Hernandez explains,

Under the terms of the contract that Ramirez was offered by the Dodgers on Wednesday, he would’ve received $10 million this year. And by exercising the option for the second year, he would’ve received $10 million in 2010.

Ramirez, who turns 37 in May, would’ve been paid the remaining $25 million over the next three years without any added interest. He would’ve received $10 million in 2011, $10 million in 2012 and $5 million in 2013 .

Scott Boras made a counter offer using the same basic language and numbers of the club’s two-year, $45MM offer, but without the deferred payments.  Boras told the Dodgers that they have until noon to strike a deal.

10:46pm: Press release from the Dodgers: Manny has rejected their latest offer.  In the release, Dodgers’ owner Frank McCourt expresses his frustration with Manny and Scott Boras.  He says the Dodgers are negotiating against themselves and improved their offer despite the economy.

8:24pm: Jayson Stark of ESPN.com said on ESPN Radio that the best offer Manny will see is currently on the table. Stark asks a fair question: "With nobody else really bidding, how much better can [Manny] do?"

7:29pm: The Giants are still keeping tabs on Manny, but the D’Backs are assuming he’ll end up in LA. Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports that Bob Melvin, Dan Haren and Tony Clark all expect Manny to sign with the Dodgers.

5:15pm: Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle heard from Giants president Larry Baer that the Giants have based their conversations with Boras on "concepts" rather than concrete figures. Schulman gets the sense that the main concept is a multi-year deal that provides "outs" for Manny and the Giants in case one side decides the deal isn’t working.

Colletti said the Dodgers made a "significant concession" with their most recent offer. When asked about the timetable for the deal, he said "you can go as many innings as you need to get a resolution."

4:55pm: According to the Associated Press, via ESPN.com, Colletti doesn’t think it’s a big deal that Ramirez is not yet in camp.  It’s definitely not going to affect negotiations.

"With the season starting a week later, it’s a little bit more flexible than it might have been a year ago," Colletti said Thursday afternoon.

3:16pm: Dylan Hernandez has some additional information from Giants president Larry Baer:

Baer said he expects the All-Star outfielder to re-sign with the Dodgers and that the Giants had no intention of entering a bidding war for his services.

2:59pm: Dodgers GM Ned Colletti just finished addressing the media.  Boras told the Dodgers that he’d get back to them in a day or two, according to Tony Jackson.

It sounds like this saga might not reach its conclusion today.

1:22pm: Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has an update from the Giants’ side of things:

Giants president Larry Baer said he exchanged messages with agent Scott Boras on Wednesday, but nothing had changed. Boras did not solicit an offer and Baer said the Giants have not made an official one.

“We haven’t been asked to make an offer in the last couple of days,” Baer said Thursday. “I don’t want to characterize it beyond that. People are saying it’s accelerated (with the Dodgers). I can’t tell you there’s any difference today than a week ago. There may be, but it hasn’t been communicated to us.”

12:49pm: Manager Joe Torre puts in his two cents (courtesy of MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick):

"Any time you talk and make another offer and they’re still listening, it’s all good as far as I’m concerned." Torre would obviously prefer putting lineups together with Manny involved.

9:08am: According to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, Scott Boras told reporters this morning that he’s "in the middle of negotiations" with the Dodgers and at least one other team.  Still, it’d be surprising to see Colletti and Co. budge from the offer that is currently on the table.

Catch up on all things Manny Ramirez in our MLBTR archive.

WEDNESDAY, 11:45pm: I was just thinking, this contract offer is not unlike A.J. Burnett’s opt-out clause.  The Dodgers would have Manny on a one-year, $25MM deal, plus an option that cannot possibly work in their favor.

7:29pm: Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports makes a good observation:

Boras did not immediately accept the offer, but a source said he delivered the offer to his client – a sign of progress because the first two offers were dismissed immediately by Boras.

7:18pm: Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times says the player option came at Boras’ request.

7:05pm: Jackson reports that the Dodgers have offered Manny a two-year, $45MM contract.

From what I understand, though, there WON’T be a deal tonight, Jackson writes. The offer is a two-year, $45 million contract, with salaries of $25 million the first year and $20 million the second, but the second year is a PLAYER option so Manny can walk away if he believes he can get more on the open market next winter. If he is injured during the first season, the second year becomes guaranteed. Boras and Co. have taken it under advisement, and the club is expecting a response early tomorrow.

6:12pm: Tony Jackson of the Los Angeles Daily News chimes in:

Gurnick wrote earlier today that they are meeting, and I have been able to semi-confirm that, as well as semi-confirm the fact that said meeting is taking place at Dodger Stadium. What I can tell you, from my own observations, is that people are behaving strangely, or at least at odds with their normal behavior. This could be it, folks. Stay tuned. It might be a long evening.

5:38pm: Gurnick has made an update to his most recent story.

Dodgers chairman Frank McCourt and GM Ned Colletti did, in fact, meet with agent Scott Boras during the team’s first spring game Wednesday.  Gurnick calls it "the most serious attempt to date to sign" Ramirez.

4:37pm: MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick notes that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti was absent from the team’s first exhibition game.  Might be Manny-related; might not.

9:08am: ESPN’s Buster Olney believes Manny Ramirez remains unsigned because of his behavior in Boston:

The primary reason for [the lack of interest in Manny], unquestionably, is the sport-wide perception that he did not honor his contract in Boston, and went to extraordinary depths to get himself out of that contract. These are not the on-background musings of a couple of rogue scouts, or the chortlings of conspiracy-theorist sports writers. This is the cemented belief of many executives with many teams, reinforced by Ramirez’s sudden transformation into a high-energy player as soon as he moved from the Red Sox to the Dodgers.

In my opinion, the primary interest for the limited Manny interest is his asking price.  At a time when solid corner outfielders are signing for $10MM per year tops, Manny wants more than twice that salary and at least three years guaranteed.  I think if Ramirez and Boras were willing to take a reasonable two-year, $30MM deal, there’d be five more teams in on him.