11:00pm: Schulman says the Giants have had conversations with Boras about Manny, but have not extended a formal offer. Nothing is imminent, and the Giants are considering other options via trade and free agency.
3:33pm: The Chronicle’s Henry Schulman doesn’t have anything new on the KPIX report yet. But he’s heard that the Dodgers offered Manny $60MM over three years at some point and were turned down.
2:40pm: MLB.com’s Chris Haft splashes some cold water on the KPIX-TV rumor. His sources say recent reports linking the Giants to Manny are overblown. The Dodgers may be the only truly interested team currently. Haft says the Giants are looking to add a corner infield bat instead (they’ve been linked to Edwin Encarnacion and Jorge Cantu in the past, among others).
1:30pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman was able to confirm that the Giants entered the bidding for Manny. He says the Dodgers remain interested, and that "some baseball people" aren’t writing off the Angels despite Tony Reagins’ public statement. Heyman adds that one or two other AL teams are on the periphery, the Yankees not among them.
6:05am: There’s a rumor making the rounds from Dennis O’Donnell of KPIX-TV of San Francisco. O’Donnell says the Giants have offered Manny Ramirez a four-year deal. Reasons to treat the report with skepticism:
- O’Donnell says it’s a fourth-year club option, so it was inaccurate to call it a four-year offer.
- We haven’t heard anything about this from the Giants beat writers or national reporters, who have a better track record than television stations. Henry Schulman covers the Giants for the San Francisco Chronicle, and he says the team "could consider Ramirez under very specific financial conditions." He was probably not referring to a three or four-year offer.
- O’Donnell was told by a team spokeman, "It’s not happening." Scott Boras’ publicist "had no knowledge of any negotiations with the Giants," according to O’Donnell.