Floyd’s Situation Now Is a Real Cliff-Hanger

Cliff Floyd rejected an offer of salary arbitration from the Boston Red Sox minutes before Thursday night’s 9 p.m. PST deadline, clearing the way for the free-agent outfielder to sign a multiyear deal with the Dodgers or Baltimore Orioles.

But if Floyd is to be reunited with Dodger manager and longtime admirer Jim Tracy, who managed Floyd in double-A ball in 1993, Floyd probably will have to take a pay cut.

The Dodgers were in serious negotiations with Floyd’s agent Thursday, but according to a source, their highest offer was for three years and about $15.5 million, an average of a little more than $5 million a year.

To remain under the new $117-million luxury tax threshold without cutting payroll elsewhere, the Dodgers, who also are negotiating with free-agent first baseman Fred McGriff, can’t offer Floyd much more than $5 million a year.

Floyd made $6.5 million in 2002, the final year of a four-year, $19-million deal, and he rejected a three-year, $24-million offer from the Red Sox earlier this winter. Had he accepted arbitration from the Red Sox, Floyd probably would have made $9 million or more next season.

The Orioles, who lost out on Hideki Matsui when the Japanese outfielder agreed to a three-year, $21-million deal with the New York Yankees on Thursday, jumped into the bidding for Floyd, offering a three-year deal believed to be in the $19.5-million range.

The New York Mets also made a run at Floyd Thursday but were unable to clear enough payroll -- they were trying to deal outfielders Jeromy Burnitz and Roger Cedeno to Colorado for pitcher Denny Neagle -- to make a serious bid for Floyd.

“If he decides to play for the Dodgers, it’s because he really wants to play here,” General Manager Dan Evans said. “You’re not out of it until you’re told you’re out of it, and we haven’t been told that.

“But we also have some real interesting trade possibilities involving a number of positions. We have a lot of different things to explore. Our phone bill is going to have a few more pages than usual this month, but that’s fine.”

Floyd hit .288 with 28 home runs and 79 runs batted in during a whirlwind 2002 season. He was traded from Florida to Montreal in an eight-player, three-team deal on July 11 and from Montreal to Boston on July 30.

The Red Sox, their farm system thin on prospects, offered Floyd arbitration on Dec. 7 so they would receive a first-round draft pick from the team that signed him, but by the winter meetings, they seemed to be regretting that move.

Few teams except the Dodgers showed serious interest in Floyd until late this week, and Floyd’s father said Tuesday that if Cliff didn’t sign a multiyear deal with the Dodgers by Thursday, he would accept arbitration from the Red Sox. But Floyd chose instead to reject arbitration and keep his options open.

He still has until Jan. 8 to negotiate a deal with Boston, but new Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein said Floyd won’t return.

“It’s pretty clear Cliff is going to go in another direction, but I don’t know more than that,” Epstein said. “I’m disappointed he won’t be back, but at the same time, I’m excited about the payroll flexibility and the draft picks we’ll receive.”

If Floyd signs with the Dodgers, he would play first base, a position he is not totally comfortable with -- he has played only 116 games there in his nine-year big league career. The Dodgers have also explored trade possibilities for an outfielder, with the intention of moving right fielder Shawn Green to first base.

Several members of the organization remain reluctant to move Green, the team’s best hitter, to a position he has played only one game in his career, and some have reservations about Floyd, a corner outfielder, at first base.

But Tracy, who managed Floyd in Montreal’s farm system a decade ago, has pushed hard for Floyd.

“I won’t shy away from the fact that I got very close to this individual,” Tracy said. “That [1993 season] was a very special year for me.”

The knock on Floyd is that he is injury prone -- the 6-foot-4, 240-pounder has not been on the disabled list since 2000, but he has missed several games because of minor injuries over the past two seasons.

But there is no denying the left-handed hitting Floyd’s power, and Floyd has above-average speed for a big man. In addition to his 28 home runs in 2002, Floyd hit 43 doubles, scored 86 runs and stole 15 bases.