McCourt: Dodgers still want Ramirez

[February 04, 2009]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Dodgers are still trying to bring back Manny Ramirez. Only the enigmatic slugger doesn't like their latest deal.

He rejected their third offer -- for one year -- that would have made him baseball's second-highest paid player behind Alex Rodriguez.

That leaves Ramirez unsigned three months after deciding to test his value in the recession-plagued free agent market, with the Dodgers the only team to have confirmed making any offers.

"We have interest in signing Manny," general manager Ned Colletti told The Associated Press in an e-mail Tuesday. "We don't have a deadline but these situations can change in an instant and either side can change them in an instant."

The Dodgers open spring training for the first time in Arizona on Feb. 14.

Team owner Frank McCourt said the team still wants Ramirez back, but "at some point, we have to move on," he was quoted by MLB.com, which attended McCourt's hospital visit to cancer patients along with the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday.

The latest deal -- a one-year, $25 million offer -- was rejected Monday. It would have given Ramirez the second-highest average salary behind New York Yankees third baseman Rodriguez's $275 million, 10-year contract.

"We came up with what we thought was a creative proposal to give him a lot of money, and well deserved in a challenging economy, and give him flexibility if he feels it's important to test free agency next year," McCourt told MLB.com. "I don't see long-term contracts happening in this market we're in."

Ramirez, who turns 37 in May, is believed to be seeking a four- or five-year deal starting at $25 million per season.

"We'd love to sign Manny," McCourt told MLB.com. "But we have to be prudent with our decisions. This is about winning now, but also in the future."

Colletti initially tried to re-sign the left fielder, offering a two-year, $45 million deal with a buyout or a club option that was ignored by Ramirez's agent Scott Boras and later withdrawn by the team.

"The agent is challenging to work with and we've tried hard," McCourt told MLB.com. "We've made three efforts and we still have not received a specific number from the agent, and I don't know what to tell you. At some point, you have to move on and start to get ready to win a championship."

The Dodgers' second attempt involved salary arbitration in December, but Ramirez said no to that, too.

The San Francisco Giants have confirmed interest in Ramirez, but like the Dodgers, they are believed to be reluctant to guarantee a long-term deal.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman reiterated Tuesday that his team will not pursue Ramirez.

"I do hear the rumblings. People expect us to get in on Manny. But that's not going to happen," Cashman said. "We're tapped."

"I hope he stays in the National League," the GM added. "Let him stay out on the West Coast."

The length of the deal seems to be the sticking point between the Dodgers and Ramirez, who created a buzz upon arriving in Los Angeles from Boston at the July 31 trade deadline.

Ramirez hit .396 with 17 homers, 53 RBIs, 36 runs scored, 74 hits and 35 walks in 53 regular-season games, leading the Dodgers to the NL West title.

He was even more potent in the postseason, hitting .520 with four homers, 10 RBIs, nine runs scored and 11 walks in eight playoff games.

Ramirez made a huge impact on the Dodgers' bottom line, with a big boost in attendance and souvenir sales, including No. 99 jerseys and fake dreadlocks.

But the latest rejection seems to signal that Ramirez remains intent on locking up a long-term deal that would take him through age 40.

"This is what I would call a 'deliberate market,'" Boras said Tuesday. "There's players ending up with market contracts."

Los Angeles manager Joe Torre and some of the Dodgers players have said they want Ramirez back.

The latest rejection "doesn't mean he's not coming back. They're still talking and that's what negotiations are all about," Torre said at a signing for his new book in New York.

"I've talked to him a couple of times. He enjoyed his experience. He'd like to come back, but again, this is the business part of it. Hopefully things can get worked out."

Ramirez is even getting job-hunting help from Albert Pujols.

The St. Louis slugger passed along Ramirez's telephone number to Cardinals manager Tony La Russa.

"I speak with Manny every three days and he tells me, 'Man, no one wants to sign me,' Pujols said last week in the Dominican Republic. "I'm not an agent or general manager, but I can't understand how Manny has not signed."

[Associated Press; By BETH HARRIS]

Associated Press Baseball Writers Ronald Blum and Mike Fitzpatrick and Sports Writer Rick Freeman contributed to this report.

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