The Dodgers officially offered free agent Manny Ramirez a two-year, $45 million contract. Details below.

MLB.com has learned that in the 2 1/2-hour meeting, the Dodgers officials offered Ramirez a variation of their original two-year deal, guaranteeing $45 million for two years ($25 million the first year and $20 million the second).

Boras told the Los Angeles Times that he’s “in the middle of negotiations” and would not comment further.

However, the third-year option of $15 million from the first proposal was dropped and, at Boras’ request, the second year is a player option so Ramirez could become a free agent again after the 2009 season.

Ramirez, 37 in May, originally sought a contract length of six years at a salary in the Alex Rodriguez neighborhood ($27.5 million a year). The Dodgers initially offered two years at $45 million plus a $15 million third-year option. They also offered salary arbitration, then made a one-year offer of $25 million.

Unless the Yankees get involved or the Giants decide to get gutsy at the last minute, this offer from the Dodgers is the best Ramirez is going to get. L.A. isn’t going to extend the amount of years on the contract and the money is fair. This appears to be a take-it-or-leave-it deal for Manny and Scott Boras.

John Tomase of the Boston Herald writes that as long as Manny Ramirez is still available, the Yankees should never be counted out as a potential suitor.

Which brings us back to Ramirez. He has been linked mainly with the Dodgers, with talks reportedly intensifying in the past week. However, he and agent Scott Boras are stubbornly holding out for a four-year deal, while LA is unwilling to offer more than two.

So the clock ticks, with the Yankees sunning themselves like a rattlesnake. Maybe they’ll stay coiled and motionless, but maybe they’ll take their seemingly limitless cash and strike.

“I can’t see it,� Youkilis said. “I only see him really going to LA. The Dodgers will sign him. Maybe San Francisco. I think the Yankees are capped out. They’ve spent all that money, and I can’t see them going after Manny. But you never know with the Yankees.�

Youkilis notes that New York’s outfield already is overflowing with Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, Xavier Nady, Nick Swisher, Melky Cabrera and youngster Brett Gardner. Matsui will DH while he recovers from knee surgery and Damon is set in left field, leaving four players fighting for two spots.

Could the Yankees really add Ramirez to that cluster?

Hell yes they could. They’re the Yankees – they can do anything.

The idea seems farfetched with the Dodgers seemingly on the verge of bringing him back, but would anyone be surprised if the Bombers stepped in at the last second and handed Manny the long-term contract he covets? No.

And if they needed room for him, they’d make it.

Lost in the midst of everyone’s bitching about the Yankees’ holiday spending spree this year is the notion that Major League Baseball might actually step up and finally put a salary cap in place in efforts to control teams’ future spending. (I said might.)

In one offseason, the Yankees acquired two of the top pitching free agents (CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett) available and the market’s best young hitter (Mark Teixiera). Outside of Manny Ramirez and possibly Jake Peavy, the Bronx Spenders have left the market completely bare. (And don’t think they haven’t thought about figuring out a way to squeeze both Manny and Peavy into their budget, too.)

If you trust what some of the major media outlets are saying, then the Yankees are pissing people off – and not just the Red Sox, Angels and every other team that tries to compete with their spending every year. Apparently, they’re pissing off the league, too, but will it be enough to get Bud Selig off his dead ass and put a cap in place? It’s unlikely, but at least there’s talk of a cap possibly on the horizon.

I don’t blame the Yankees for spending as much as they can because there aren’t any rules in place to stop them. If you’re going to allow a tyrant to do whatever it wants, then the tyrant is probably going to do whatever it wants. The Yankees don’t hide who they are – they want to win and they’re willing to spend to do so. And you know what? Don’t blame them – blame the league that doesn’t care enough about evening the playing field to put a system in place to control the spending of every team.

But maybe this time around people are finally going to wake up. The Yankees’ spending isn’t out of control – it’s been out of control for a long time. But again, don’t blame them. There’s never been a better time for a cap and if the Spenders’ holiday shopping spree won’t force change in baseball, then I’m afraid nothing will.

A Dominican site called Impactodeportivo.com.do is reporting that Manny Ramirez is set to sign a three-year, $75 million contract with the New York Yankees soon.

This is from Rotoworld.com:

Doubtful, extremely doubtful. Still, everyone else will picking up on the Dominican-based report soon enough. Manny to the Yankees is a definite possibility, but it’s highly unlikely that the two sides are this far along. On the off chance that it is, a more legitimate source will pick up on it soon.

Agreed. If the Yankees and Manny were this far along, a reporter for ESPN, FOX or SI would be all over it. I don’t doubt that there’s a great chance that Ramirez signs with the Bombers soon, but I doubt it’s going to happen within a day or two. Especially not after the Angels and Red Sox just pulled out of the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes.

According to a report by ESPN.com, free agent Mark Teixeira apparently is seeking a deal worth at least $184 million. And with that, the Boston Red Sox bid him adieu.

Red Sox officials have maintained privately all fall that while they would love to have Teixeira, they are very comfortable going into 2009 with the team that they have, with Mike Lowell at third base, Kevin Youkilis at first base and David Ortiz as the designated hitter, backing strong pitching.

And if Teixeira were to sign with the Los Angeles Angels or the Washington Nationals or another team, the Red Sox would be in a position to take advantage of some of the free-agent bargains that have developed in this frigid economic climate; the asking prices for players like Derek Lowe are bound to drop, general managers believe, because there are so few teams willing to spend decent money.

One executive familiar with the meeting said the Red Sox were told that in order to get Teixeira, they would have to offer about $24.3 million a year over eight years — or a deal for about $195 million. The Red Sox walked out, and Henry issued this statement to the AP: “We met with Mr. Teixeira and were very much impressed with him. After hearing about his other offers, however, it seems clear that we are not going to be a factor.”

Not surprisingly, the Yankees have re-entered the Teixeira sweepstakes, although the Angels might be the front-runners in bidding for his services.

Yankees people were thought on Friday to be debating the merits of Teixeira vs. Manny Ramirez, Boras’ other available slugging superstar, and there may be a split vote in the pinstripe hierarchy. While they all love Teixiera’s all-around play and character, Ramirez may be favored by some for his unmatched clutch hitting prowess, unique ability to tweak the rival Red Sox and to draw attention and dollars, but especially because he’d require a shorter term (perhaps three or four years as opposed to at least eight for Teixeira).

Meanwhile, there are signs that the Angels, who were thought to be trailing Boston a few days ago with a bid in the area of $165 million, might be readying for a move now. Some Angels baseball people figured that $160-to-170 million might be owner Arte Moreno’s limit, but that doesn’t look at all clear now.

Wow. It’s amazing to think that Teixeira might be heading back to the Angels after many reports had him as a lock to wind up in Boston. You have to admire the Red Sox for setting a limit and not backing away from that. They know the Yankees are trying to drive up the price so they set their max and are prepared to walk if that’s not enough.

I still say the Yankees are just trying to screw their competition and aren’t a true contender to sign Teixeira. And after these reports, I bet he re-signs with L.A. in the $184-range.

The Red Sox apparently are leading the race for free agent first basemen Mark Teixeira according to the Boston Globe.

Two GMs who were involved in the Teixeira talks both felt the Red Sox had a leg up.

“They have the highest offer on the table,” said one of the GMs.
One of the GMs responded to Red Sox owner John Henry’s comment to the Boston Herald that the Sox would not go 10 years on any player with, “No one’s going there [10 years].”

“We all have limits,” Henry said in an e-mail to the Associated Press yesterday. “Eight years is a very long time in baseball and everywhere else. Baseball as a whole has not yet been hit by the financial crisis, but it will. The degree is in question and won’t be answered for a while.”
But who knows?

The Yankees were willing to go two more years than anyone else on CC Sabathia, so why not on Teixeira?

One of the GMs concluded the Yankees were the fly in the ointment, but “Manny [Ramírez is] going to the Yankees.”

I’ll say this at least 34 more times before a deal is eventually in place but the Yankees are only in the Teixeira-talks to drive up the price for the Red Sox. They want to put the screws to their biggest rival before they turn their attention to Manny, who apparently no team has an interest in at his asking price.

In the end, Teixeira will wind up in Boston and Manny will either remain a Dodger or become a rich Yankee.

According to the New York Daily News, several members in the Yankees’ front office are split on whether or not to pursue free agent Manny Ramirez.

Two other officials are skeptical that the Bombers would commit three years to the enigmatic Ramirez, who has already seen the Dodgers make and withdraw a two-year, $45 million offer this winter. Both of them believe the Yankees will linger in the background while agent Scott Boras works to gather offers, and if the market is limited, the Yanks will try to jump in with a two-year, $50 million package.

According to a source familiar with the Yankees’ thinking, Brian Cashman has been lukewarm to the idea of signing Ramirez, but the rest of the front office – most notably Hal and Hank Steinbrenner – believes he is precisely what the Yankees need to bolster a lineup that underachieved in 2008.

It’s unlikely that Boras will let Ramirez sign anywhere until Mark Teixeira makes his decision, since the teams that fail to land the first baseman could decide to take a run at Ramirez as an alternative. The Red Sox, Angels, Nationals and Orioles are believed to be the final four teams in the running for Teixeira, and aside from the Red Sox, the other three could try to sign Ramirez if they don’t get Teixeira. The Dodgers could also jump back in the mix once the market for him clears up.

Well, if it’s the Steinbrenner brothers vs. Cashman, there’s no question who’ll win that battle. The Yankees are going to make a push for Ramirez, but not before they drive the asking price for Mark Teixeira through the roof. After handing out huge contracts to CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, it’ll be interesting to see how much the Bombers wind up offering Manny if they eventually do decide to pursue him.

Despise the New York Yankees, do ya? Well get ready to hate them even more because they’re about to become every Yankee-hater’s worst nightmare this offseason. By the time they’re done making moves, the head of every non-Yankee fan across this great nation will be long blown off.

Think the Bronx Bombers were done after they signed CC Sabathia to a 30-year, $1 Gazillion contract last week? They’re not done – not even close. They’ve also got A.J. Burnett, Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez on their radar and if it were possible to raise Ty Cobb, Cy Young and “Shoeless� Joe Jackson from their death beds, the Yankees would have already made bids on their services, too.

Here’s the thing, the Yankees missed the playoffs last year. They also haven’t won the American League East since 2006, a pennant since 2003 or a World Series since 2000. Simply put, that is unacceptable in the Bronx and with a new stadium ready to be opened next year, the new boss Hank Steinnbrenner wouldn’t dare fielding a loser in 2009.

The New York Post is reporting that the New York Yankees will pursue free agent outfielder Manny Ramirez and first basemen Mark Teixeira.

“If they can’t get Teixeira, they are right there on Manny,” an official with knowledge of the Yankees’ plan said yesterday.

The attention being paid to bolster the lineup that lost Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi doesn’t mean the Yankees are out of the pitching business. They remain engaged with Andy Pettitte, Derek Lowe and Ben Sheets. Eventually, the Yankees believe Pettitte will take their $10 million offer.

Only fools count out the Yankees when it comes to free agents. Nevertheless, Teixeira has eight-year offers for $160 million from the Angels and Nationals. The Red Sox are wary of eight years but aren’t shy of six for $150. Having already spent $243.5 million for CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, the Yankees may not want to go that high (or for that many years) for Teixeira.

If they pass on Teixeira, the Yankees will try and bolster a sagging lineup with Ramirez, one of the greatest run producers in baseball history. And to clear some money, they might entertain offers for outfielder Xavier Nady, who made $3.35 million last year, is arbitration eligible and a free agent after the 2009 season.

I wouldn’t doubt the Yankees landing any top free agent, but I don’t think Teixeira will be playing in pinstripes next year. I think they entered the Teixeira-talks to drive up the price for Boston.

Manny, on the other hand, is a different story. I think he’s pissed that he wasn’t offered a contract yet and will jump at the chance to join the Evil Empire so he can stick it to teams – especially the Red Sox.

Now that CC Sabathia is set to become a Yankee, the attention will start to turn to finding Manny Ramirez a home. According to YAHOO! Sports, there’s no market for Manny at this point.

The Dodger offer, the only known offer, is for $45 million over two years.

“Was for $45 million over two years,� one Dodgers executive corrected.

It’s off the table, along with the third-year option that, if exercised, would have brought the contract’s worth to $60 million.

The Dodgers are still in on Ramirez. Their offer could be reheated and reserved. But, they could in the coming days or weeks re-sign Furcal and find themselves up to their credit lines in Sabathia, and quickly turn away. So, what of the others out there?

The Angels? Teixeira comes first, Sabathia second. Manny?

“It’s not a likely scenario,� Angels GM Tony Reagins said. “We think there are opportunities we see that are more important at this time.�

The Red Sox? Please.

The Yankees? Sabathia first, then Burnett and Lowe, then more pitching, then Teixeira, then Manny. GM Brian Cashman believes nearly all the problems of recent seasons can be fixed on the mound. They could eventually turn to Manny, but it sounds like a distant priority.

The Mets? GM Omar Minaya loves Manny. But he’s just added Francisco Rodriguez and he needs at least one starting pitcher and his owner is cutting payroll, not adding, say, $75 million over three years.

I thought for sure that the Yankees would lose out on Sabathia and turn their attention to Manny, but obviously it’s a long shot that Ramirez winds up in the Bronx now. A potential sleeper candidate could be the San Francisco Giants. They’ve got plenty of pitching both at the big league level and in the minors, yet absolutely nothing in terms of bats. (Unless you consider Randy Winn, Bengie Molina and Aaron Rowand has heavy hitters.)

Buuuuuuuuuut, I don’t know if the Giants will come up with the money. And compared to their needs in the infield, the Giants need another outfielder like Barry Bonds needs another federal charge filed against him. But if no market is established for Manny in the upcoming weeks, maybe the G-Men will make a move and finally get a true cleanup hitter back in the lineup.