MLB Rumors: San Francisco Giants And Manny Ramirez

Manny Ramirez to San Francisco?  Since Joel Sherman opined on XM Radio three days ago that the Giants should pursue Manny (reported here), considerable chatter has picked-up thanks to a one sentence blurb by Troy Renck of the Denver Post in an article that covered the signing of Brian Fuentes by the Los Angeles Angels.

Now reports from alocal San Francisco television station report the Giants have offered Manny Ramirez a four-year contract.  The Giants have experience with players perceived to be selfish and unliked by the general baseball community so this report is easy to believe.  Additionally, Manny's offensive production will mute whatever outfield prospect blockage he would entail over the next couple seasons.  John Sickels' Top 20 prospects for 2009 includes just one outfielder, Rafael Rodriguez, a 6'5 16-year-old signed last summer who has yet to log a single professional AB.  (Sorry Nate Schierholtz.)

Putting aside the near-universal feeling of seeing Ramirez and his agent Scott Boras eat crow and get less than the $20 million per season both conspired to get Manny out of this past summer and a four-year offer for a defensively lackadaisical outfielder, I see no major reason not to think this makes organizational sense for the San Francisco Giants.