Manny Ramirez dropped off the face of the MLB planet last year but he’s still somewhat newsworthy – especially when the Yankees are interested.

According to Jack Curry of the YES Network, the Yankees have had internal discussions about signing Man-Ram. The club is looking for a right-handed bat to add to their bench, although even Curry admits that a deal with Ramirez is unlikely. He’s a poor defensive outfielder and even at his age, it’s doubtful he’ll want to come off the bench. The Bombers already have a DH in Jorge Posada, so he wouldn’t be a fit there either.

The Bombers are pretty set in the outfield with Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner. They still need to add a starting pitcher (or three), but leave it to the Yanks to try and acquire as many bats as possible. If their pitching is as bad as it current looks on paper, they’ll need as much offense as possible.

Assuming Ramirez doesn’t sign with NY, he could land with the Rays, who are interested in signing the 38-year-old.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.