MLB | Dodgers offer Ramirez $25M per season

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers have made a contract offer to Manny Ramirez that would give the 36-year-old free-agent outfielder the highest average annual value in the history of the franchise and the second-highest average annual value in baseball.

General Manager Ned Colletti and Ramirez's agent, Scott Boras, refused to specify the value or the length of the contract, though indications are it is either two years for $50 million or three years for $75 million.

"When we key in on a player we really like, we like to be aggressive and see if there's a common feeling with the player," Colletti said.

Colletti acknowledged that the proposal was in line with his philosophy of offering players higher annual salaries in exchange for shorter deals. He said the offer includes an option year, meaning it's possible only two years could be guaranteed.

Boras said at the general managers' meetings in Dana Point, Calif., this week that Ramirez deserved a six-year contract that would pay him until he is 42.

It remains unclear whether this is an earnest bid by the Dodgers to re-sign the player who took them to their first National League Championship Series in two decades, or a halfhearted attempt to appease fans who became enamored with the dreadlocked slugger.

Colletti said he understood that Ramirez probably would not sign before the Dodgers' exclusive negotiating window with him expires Nov. 13.

It is also unclear what kind of market exists for Ramirez. Philadelphia Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said his team could use a power-hitting left fielder, but that Ramirez was probably too expensive. San Francisco Giants GM Brian Sabean said his team almost certainly wouldn't pursue him. New York Mets GM Omar Minaya said that while he liked Ramirez, his top priority is to acquire pitching.

Noting that the Dodgers' attendance and revenue increased and they made the playoffs after they acquired Ramirez on July 31, Boras argued that the player showed he could "pay for himself."

Colletti disputed such a notion, as did San Diego Padres CEO Sandy Alderson, who used to work in the commissioner's office.

"I will say that the one guy recently that has paid for himself has been Manny Ramirez, by virtue of the fact that the Dodgers paid nothing," Alderson said.

The $7 million that remained on Ramirez's deal at the time of the trade was paid for by his former team, the Red Sox. Ramirez's last contract was for eight years and $160 million.

The Dodgers have money to spend. Thirteen players who cost them about $60 million are free agents.

Notes

• Relief pitcher Damaso Marte's $6 million option was declined by the New York Yankees, who chose to pay the left-hander a $250,000 buyout. Marte was 1-3 with a 5.40 earned-run average in 25 games with the Yankees and 5-3 with a 4.02 ERA overall.

• Yankees general manager Brian Cashman wants pitcher Andy Pettitte to stay with the team for the 2009 season. The 36-year-old left-hander said near the end of the season that he'd likely want to remain with the Yankees, and he confirmed that decision this week to KRIV television in Houston.

• General managers plan to recommend that sites for division and wild-card tiebreakers be decided by wins and losses, rather than coin flips. MLB staff is drafting a proposal for the GMs to consider next month when they gather at the winter meetings in Las Vegas.