On the day after Manny Ramirez said no to the Dodgers, a host of potential suitors all but lined up to say no to him.
As owner Frank McCourt warned Tuesday that the Dodgers might soon end talks with Ramirez and predicted the team could return to the playoffs without him, the Dodgers appeared confident that no other team would offer him a lucrative long-term contract.
A day after Ramirez rejected the Dodgers' third bid to sign him -- a one-year offer for $25 million -- the club did not engage in contract discussions with outfielders Bobby Abreu and Adam Dunn or infielder Orlando Hudson, players they could pursue should they move on from Ramirez.
Peter Greenberg, the agent for Abreu, said he called Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti Tuesday morning. Colletti renewed the Dodgers' interest in Abreu but indicated they had not abandoned hope of retaining Ramirez, according to Greenberg.
Colletti said he did not talk Tuesday with Greg Genske, the agent for Dunn and Hudson, and had not had any recent discussions "of substance" about those players. Genske did not return a call for comment.
McCourt declined to say whether the money reserved for Ramirez could be spent on other players. He said he did not foresee Ramirez getting a long-term contract and expressed frustration with Scott Boras, the agent for Ramirez.
"His agent is challenging to work with," said McCourt, speaking at the City of Hope Hospital in Duarte as part of a Dodgers' community outreach program. "It's been over three months, and [we're] two weeks away from spring training, and we still have not received a specific number from the agent.
"At some point in time, it's time to move on."
If the Dodgers move on from Ramirez -- or vice versa -- the market for the All-Star outfielder appears limited at best. The San Francisco Giants have expressed interest in Ramirez, but not in the long-term contract Boras continues to seek.
And, in an extraordinary series of comments from around the country, the teams widely considered most likely to jump into the Ramirez sweepstakes followed his rejection of the Dodgers' latest offer by declaring their lack of interest in signing him.
From Angels spokesman Tim Mead: "No Manny Ramirez for us."
From Washington Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden, to mlb.com: "We are not pursuing Manny Ramirez."
