Manny to Yanks? Unlikely

I recently read an anonymous comment from someone that asked me what I thought of the possibility of Manny Ramirez signing with the Yankees. Well, this topic has been floating around all winter, and actually really heated up at one point right before the Yankees signed Mark Teixiera. However, it remains very unlikely for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Manny would have to DH, a role currently occupied by Hideki Matsui. The Yankees are already shopping Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher, and they would have to move another outfielder/DH in addition to them in order to make room for Manny. That doesn't seem like an option however, because the Yankees only want to trade one of Nady/Swisher and they can't find anywhere to trade Matsui, who would have to move. The second reason is the money factor. Manny already commands a 2-year, $45mm offer from the Dodgers, and they would likely go a little bit higher than that to sign him. However after investing almost $400mm in contracts to CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira, the Yankees wouldn't be able to go very high and thus Manny would still most likely wind up with the Dodgers.

It sure would be nice to add Manny to the already powerful A-Rod and Tex combo, but it just isn't going to happen. Wrong place, wrong time.