• The agent for Manny Ramirez has contacted the Dodgers and has reopened negotiations, Bill Shaikin writes. It will be fascinating to see how L.A.'s front office handles this situation because the executives must give some serious consideration to these two issues:
No. 1: The front office has enormous leverage in these contract talks. The prices for corner outfielders have plummeted, and Ramirez seems to have no other suitors who could talk dollars anywhere near the level of what the Dodgers can offer. This winter, a $10 million salary is a very good offer for a corner outfielder, and although the Dodgers initially offered a two-year, $45 million deal to Ramirez back in November, a reduction in their proposal would fall in line with everything that is going on in the current market. Giving Ramirez a three-year deal would be like overpaying by 50 percent in the shriveled real estate market.
To continue reading this article you must be an Insider
Buster Olney
