Well, that didn't take long. Almost as quickly as the Dodgers had offered Manny Ramirez a one-year deal worth $25 million, it was rejected by Ramirez and his agent, Scott Boras.
The Dodgers have said that they still have an interest in signing Manny, but just how they're going to go about doing so remains unclear, considering that this is now the second offer they've sent over that has been rejected.
"We still have an interest in signing Manny," Colletti said.
Colletti said the Dodgers haven't set a self-imposed deadline to re-sign Ramirez. He declined to say whether the Dodgers would intensify their search for alternatives, which could include players like Bobby Abreu or Adam Dunn.
Colletti said he didn't have any conversations with Boras scheduled.
"These situations can change in an instant and anybody can change them," Colletti said.
So, what should we make of the Dodgers' one-year offer, which was a step back from the two-year, $45 million one they gave Manny back in November? The initial offer expired without even a response from Camp Manny, so maybe this is a sign of progress that Boras actually responded within the 24-hour window that the Dodgers gave him. Or, maybe not.
L.A. could be playing hardball here, knowing that in these economic times, it's unlikely that anyone is going to shell out A-Rod type dollars for a 36-year-old outfielder, no matter how prolific he is with the bat. It's even more unlikely that Manny would accept a one-year deal, especially after he received the initial two-year offer just a few months ago.
The Dodgers are one of the very few teams in the league with the dollars available to sign Manny to anywhere close to what he's asking for. While a one-year deal might not be exactly what the slugger was hoping for, it might have been his best option in this tight economy. If nothing else, it would have been a few more million (on average) than the two-year deal the Dodgers' were originally offering -- one that, by the way, is no longer on the table.
