Months later, Manny and Dodgers finally agree

Months later, Manny and Dodgers finally agree
Slugger gets 2-year contract worth $45 million, arrives at spring training


LOS ANGELES - Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Dodgers reached a preliminary agreement Wednesday on a $45 million, two-year contract following months of talks.

The agreement is subject to the outfielder passing a physical, a person familiar with the talks said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because the deal was not final.

Ramirez gets $25 million this year and has until November to decide whether to void the second season, which calls for a $20 million salary. The deal includes a full no-trade provision.

The Dodgers were the only team to acknowledge pursuing Ramirez, a 12-time All-Star who turns 37 in May. Ramirez helped the Dodgers win the NL West by hitting .396 with 17 homers and 53 RBIs in 53 regular-season games. In the playoffs, he batted .520 with four homers, 10 RBIs, nine runs and 11 walks in eight games.

Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti and manager Joe Torre left spring training in Arizona and met Wednesday morning in the Los Angeles area with owner Frank McCourt, Ramirez and the players’ agent, Scott Boras.

Los Angeles announced last week that Ramirez declined its latest offer, a $25 million, one-year contract with a $20 million player option for 2010. That deal would have included deferred payments of $10 million each in 2011 and 2012 and $5 million in 2013.

Boras countered with a proposal that included no deferred money, leaving the sides about $3 million apart in present-day value.

At the time the Dodgers acquired him from the Boston Red Sox last July 31, Ramirez’s contract was amended to eliminate the $20 million team options it included for 2009 and 2010. The new agreement leaves him with a small increase but likely fell short of what Ramirez hoped to gain on the free-agent market.

Ramirez was MVP of the 2004 World Series — Boston’s first championship since 1918 — and helped the Red Sox to another title in 2007. But he often failed to run hard to first base on grounders and repeatedly said he didn’t want to play for Boston, which lured him from Cleveland after the 2000 season with a $160 million, eight-year contract.

More on Manny Ramirez | Los Angeles Dodgers

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