There will be fewer valentines for Manny Ramirez this year.  In fact, he may go dateless. As the beginning of the 2009 baseball season looms, one of the greatest right-handed hitters of the modern era remains unemployed.  How much of this rests on the shoulders of his agent, Scott Boras?  Plenty. 

As the nation fell into a deepening recession last fall, Boras miscalculated how rapidly major league clubs began tightening their purse strings.  He was convinced his high profile client, fresh off a Cinderella-like run with the Dodgers wherein he propelled them to the National League championship round, would command just about any number with lots of zeroes following it that he tossed out there.  However, once C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira updated their resumes and found new homes, the market soured.  Part of it may have been a decision by baseball executives that it wouldn't be fashionable to offer Manny a four-year, $80 million deal while much of their fan base were sweating their jobs and struggling to make mortgage payments. 

The Dodgers remain the club most likely to sign Ramirez.  He was a pop hero in LA during the latter stages of the 2008 season and remains a good fit for a club in need of a veteran presence.  San Francisco has been rumored to have some interest, but it's doubtful the Giants, with numerous holes to fill, would plunk down tens of millions of dollars merely to lift themselves to .500.  Los Angeles, meanwhile, possesses a nice blend of pitching, speed and power and is well positioned to contend for the NL crown.  A full season with the Manster could lead to total domination of the NL West. 

Boras presented the Dodgers with an ultimatum last fall that Manny would only accept a three- or four-year deal.  Despite that, the Dodgers casually tossed off an offer of two years, $45 million in November.  Boras promptly rejected it and it was never reinstated by the Dodgers. Hope for a break in the stalemate took months but finally arrived on Feb. 3, when the Dodgers made a one-year, $25 million offer to Ramirez, which Boras quickly rejected while indicating he would keep the lines of communication open between his client and the Dodgers.  In the ensuing days, neither side has initiated further discussions.  However, Los Angeles GM Ned Colletti intimated on Saturday that the window is slowly closing.  “At some point in time we will come to a conclusion,” Colletti said in an interview with ESPN.com. “We’re not there yet."  Position players are scheduled to report to camp on February 18. 

The Dodgers posture is an acknowledgment that signing Manny is not without risk.  He turns 37 on May 30 and, although durable, is more vulnerable to injury absent opportunities to DH.  Then there is his proclivity for off-the-wall behavior.  After all, it was his criticism of Boston  management and the general contentiousness between Ramirez and the Red Sox (which included him requesting trades after the 2005 and 2006 seasons) that culminated in his being dealt to Los Angeles.  The Dodgers realize the same thing could happen to them.  

I believe Manny will end up signing with the Dodgers for close to the original tender of two years, $45 million.  Those are terms that he and Boras scoffed at last November but with zero in the way of competing offers now looks like one very tempting valentine.

Did Manny and Boras shoot themselves in the foot this offseason? Let your comments be heard below.

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