Manny Ramirez to the Giants? It could happen, but nothing appears to be close.
The Chronicle has confirmed that the Giants have had conversations with agent Scott Boras regarding the 36-year-old left fielder, but industry sources say a report that the Giants have extended a formal offer to Ramirez for a deal of up to four years was inaccurate.
No deal seems imminent between any team and Ramirez, who has 527 career home runs and guided the Dodgers to a National League West title last season after his July-deadline acquisition from the Red Sox.
If the Giants seriously engage Ramirez, Boras surely will get the Dodgers involved in trying to re-sign him, and Boras and Dodgers GM Ned Colletti have not spoken about Ramirez for weeks, save for a recent game of voicemail tag.
As one major-league source familiar with Ramirez's situation said, "This is in the early innings, not the later innings."
The Denver Post first reported Thursday that the Giants were "aggressively pursuing" Ramirez. Then, San Francisco television station KPIX reported the Giants had offered Ramirez what looks like a two-year contract with a third-year vesting option and a fourth-year team option.
The Giants are not expected to propose a contract that lengthy to Ramirez. However, that they even are discussing a deal with Ramirez speaks to the state of the division in which they play and how tilted the free-agent market is toward buyers.
Last week's Randy Johnson signing put the Giants well over the tentative payroll figure that new managing general partner William Neukom had in mind for 2009. Ramirez presumably would shoot the Giants' payroll well over $100 million. But given how weak the West is, ownership could bite the bullet if it felt Ramirez could put them over the top.
That said, a variety of sources have told The Chronicle the team is not single-mindedly pursuing Ramirez. They are looking at other free agents as well, and more so examining the trade market in a bid to acquire more offense for a team that scored only 640 runs last season.
Moreover, Sabean said as recently as last week the Giants could wait until spring training to see how much progress Noah Lowry has made from his arm issues before determining whether the Giants will trade pitching for offense.
Sabean also has said repeatedly the Giants are not looking for outfielders. Their interest in Ramirez does not necessarily signal a new push to examine the likes of Bobby Abreu, Adam Dunn and Pat Burrell. Ramirez, given his game-changing ability, appears to be a special case.
Two winters ago, the Giants asked the Red Sox about trading Ramirez to San Francisco before Barry Bonds re-signed for 2007. What would it take for the Giants to get Ramirez now?
Ramirez already has snubbed his nose at a Dodgers offer of two years at $45 million with an option that would have made it three years at $60 million. But that was last month. The Dodgers pulled that offer when Ramirez did not respond, the market is still flooded with outfielders and the number of teams with the resources to give Ramirez that kind of money in this economy seems very limited.
The Giants would not appear to be one of them. However, Neukom and the other investors might be willing to dig deeper into the team's reserves for a player such as Ramirez, who, defensive deficiencies aside, radically changes any game in which he plays.
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