Dodgers Turn Down New Manny Offer

(NEWSER) - Manny Ramirez will be back with the Los Angeles Dodgers for at least a year after contentious contract negotiations, the Los Angeles Times reports. The 37-year-old slugger, pending a physical, will sign a $45 million contract for 2 years, with an opt-out clause after the first year and a $25 million payout. “I know how people treated me in LA,” Ramirez said. “And I want to thank them.” The deal includes a no-trade clause. More»

(NEWSER) - Teams don’t usually publicize their offers to players, but the Dodgers have publicized their offer to Manny Ramirez—in fact, they’ve publicized all four of them. And so LA is embroiled in a bizarre spring training, dominated by an ongoing negotiation/feud with a player who isn’t there. “I don’t recall a more public negotiation with an athlete in recent Los Angeles history,” a USC sports business professor tells the LA Times. More»

Deferred payments deep-six deal

(NEWSER) - The Dodgers sent out an angry mass email last night, titled “Boras Rejects Dodgers Offer to Manny,” complaining that agent Scott Boras had shot down yet another offer—this time for a two-year, $45 million deal. But Boras says he didn’t reject the offer, he simply made a counter offer—for a two-year, $45 million deal. Confused? The devil is in the fine print, the LA Times reports. More»

Dodgers get one loopy guy, but hey, they got him for nothing

(NEWSER) - Look out, LA—Manny Ramirez is coming. The ex-Red Sox outfielder brings "510 career home runs inside 510 pounds of baggage,” writes Bill Plaschke of the LA Times. And "the only thing that flops around more than his trademark dreadlocks are his moods." But the deal was a no-brainer for the Dodgers: "They do not have to pay someone who immediately becomes their best hitter." More»

Owner, MLB agree to auction

(NEWSER) - Frank McCourt will auction off the Dodgers, marking an end to a particularly turbulent season that included a high-profile beating , a lawsuit related to the beating, a near-takeover by Major League Baseball, and a bankruptcy filing —not to mention a disappointing record and less-than-stellar ticket sales. McCourt and the MLB agreed to a sale, which will be supervised by US Bankruptcy Court, they said in a joint statement last night. McCourt bought the team, the stadium, and parking lots for $421 million in 2004; it is expected to go for two to three times that amount. More»