Dodgers may be working on deal to unload Andruw Jones
T.J. SIMERS
Report also has the Giants getting into the Manny Ramirez sweepstakes.
Happy New Year -- indeed!
I'm hearing the Dodgers are working on a deal that will allow the team to cut ties with Andruw Jones, save $12 million and send the guy, who couldn't hit a thing, seeking employment elsewhere.
Dodgers' GM Ned Colletti said, "We can't confirm that and right now we don't have a comment," but if completed, it would give the Dodgers an additional $12 million to pursue Manny Ramirez or cover the cost of a new wardrobe for Mrs. Parking Lot this season.
There was a one-sentence report in the Denver Post on Thursday suggesting the San Francisco Giants are now "quietly" and "aggressively" making a play for Ramirez, which suggests the Denver Post has been talking to agent Scott Boras.
It figures Boras will need another suitor to get the Dodgers' attention but should the rival Giants actually sign Ramirez, reports of Dodgers fans leaping from the Think Blue sign beyond the left-field pavilion probably will follow.
The Dodgers, suddenly relevant again because of Ramirez's arrival last season, have wiped a ton of money off the books, losing Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Joe Beimel, Takashi Saito, Greg Maddux, Jeff Kent, Chan Ho Park, Nomar Garciapara and now possibly Jones.
They signed Rafael Furcal, but because much of the money will come at the end of the three-year deal, they will be paying the shortstop $6.5 million less this season than what he was making a year ago.
It appears as if the Dodgers are loaded but still reluctant to tie themselves to Ramirez for any length of time.
The Giants, meanwhile, are entering new territory with a TV deal struck last year and are reportedly looking to make a splash.
They already fashion themselves a contender because of the recent acquisition of Randy Johnson, but "the batting order remains more shallow than Britney Spears' reading list," according to a column written recently by Mark Purdy in the San Jose Mercury News.
The Giants arguably would become overnight favorites to win the National League West Division with Ramirez and the pitching staff they have already assembled.
As for the Dodgers, they would still have Juan Pierre to fill Ramirez's shoes in left.
(More to come when the Rose Bowl is over.)
t.j.simers@latimes.com
