Comment #1

PeacefulMan — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 01:30:50 GMT

Trying to make a run next year, that's why they offered him so much.

Original Blog Entry: Offer: Two-year contract worth $45M

NBey6 — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:07:21 GMT

Dodgers' offer to Manny Ramirez valued at $45 million

The contract would make Ramirez the second-highest paid player in the major leagues in 2010.

By Dylan Hernandez and Bill Shaikin

2:17 PM PST, November 6, 2008

The Dodgers have offered Manny Ramirez a two-year contract worth $45 million, two sources told The Times today.

The offer includes a 2009 salary of $15 million and an option for a third year, according to sources granted anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss contract details.

Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti on Wednesday said the offer represented the second-highest average annual value in baseball but declined to specify that value. Colletti today declined to comment.

It is uncertain how the Dodgers structured the offer, other than the 2009 salary, and whether the offer includes a buyout, signing bonus or deferred payment.

In theory, the Dodgers could have offered to pay Ramirez $15 million in 2009 and $25 million in 2010, with a $5 million buyout on their 2011 option, a framework that would guarantee Ramirez $45 million, at an average annual value of $22.5 million.

Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees has the most lucrative contract in the major leagues, at an average of $27.5 million. Johan Santana of the New York Mets follows, with a contract believed to be valued at $21.3 million per year by owners and $20.5 million per year by the players' union, with accounting differences explaining the variance.

On Wednesday, Colletti declined to say whether he had made the Dodgers' best offer. Ramirez, 36, and his agent, Scott Boras, have suggested a contract term of five or six years.

The Dodgers' offer would make Ramirez the second-highest paid player in the major leagues in 2010, behind Rodriguez. In 2009, however, at least 14 players would have a greater annual salary, and Ramirez would have the same salary as Andruw Jones, who would be out of a starting job if the Dodgers retain Ramirez.

Hernandez and Shaikin are Times staff writers.... [ More ]