Manny out of options?

Manny Ramirez, a sure-fire Hall of Famer, may be out of options, even though many teams need his lively bat

Earlier this off-season, free agent Manny Ramirez turned down a 2-year, $45 million dollar contract offer from the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team with which he spent the latter part of 2008. Now, it looks like he should have taken the deal when he had the chance.

Ramirez, a definite Hall of Famer, dominated the National League over the final two months of season in leading the Dodgers into the playoffs. During 53 games with Los Angeles, Ramirez hit an astonishing .396 with 17 homers, 53 rbi’s, and a 35:38 walk/strikeout ratio. Yet, because of his messy breakup with the Boston Red Sox, he failed to impress opposing teams entering free agency. The way he treated the Red Sox was certainly a red flag to teams who had previously thought highly of him, including the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

If anyone needs a bat it would be the Angels. This off-season, they pulled out of the Mark Teixeira Sweepstakes after obtaining him in a mid-season trade with the Atlanta Braves, and now have a huge hole to fill. Outfielder Garrett Anderson, who had been a solid contributor for Anaheim’s franchise for 14 years, wasn’t retained after hitting 15 homers and driving in 84 last season. It was an odd move, even though he’s 36, since they weren’t a clear front-runner to re-sign Teixeira. Currently, they have two holes to fill in their lineup. The Angels have speed and some power in Vladimir Guerrero and Torri Hunter, but need to bring in some more if they want to create a efficient offense next season. They can do this by signing either Adam Dunn, Pat Burrell, Bobby Abreu, or Jason Giambi, all of whom are capable of hitting a substantial amount of home runs. These are all fallback options as, of course, Ramirez would be the most likely choice, but owner Arte Moreno said his team wasn’t genuinely interested.

During the Winter Meetings, Ramirez was confident that the Yankees would offer him a 3-year deal, presumably in the range of $70-75 million dollars. According to Impacto Deportivo, his wish came true, but many New York sportswriters, and co-owners Hank and Hal Steinbrenner,  shot down the report. In light of New York’s signing of Mark Teixeira, I don’t believe talks will resume, especially given their lavish spending this winter. So, to Ramirez’s dismay, he won’t get a chance to play for the Red Sox hated rival, and “get back” at them.

The Philadelphia Phillies were thought to have interest since they parted ways with Burrell, but they signed ex-Seattle Mariner Raul Ibanez to a three-year, $30 million dollar deal. The New York Mets were a viable option as well, but they are in discussions with the Dodgers about acquiring Andruw Jones to play left field. The Washington Nationals also seemed like a prime destination for Ramirez, especially since they lost out on Teixeira, but their General Manager Jim Bowden simply said, “We will not be pursuing Manny Ramirez.”

Apparently, no team wants to go down Ramirez’s road. His agent Scott Boras was his usual greedy self. He was oblivious to how the economy affects potential bidders, and ignorant that Ramirez’s breakup with Boston might greatly lessen interest. Both plummeted Ramirez’s value. Even so, Boras and Ramirez were determined to get as much money as they could. Wrong decision. The Dodgers wouldn’t budge on the only offer that has been made for Ramirez, and eventually pulled it after Boras nor Ramirez returned calls. This infuriated Los Angeles’s General Manager Ned Colletti, who lashed out, saying, “I find it curious. We made an offer and never heard back. We made an arbitration offer and never heard back.” Ramirez and Boras have clearly backed themselves into a wall. The Dodgers have moved on, reportedly contacting the agent of Dunn. This leaves one of the top-3 hitters of this era without a home.