Blockbuster Remains on Critical List

The attempt to restructure Alex Rodriguez’s complex contract to the satisfaction of the players’ union before Commissioner Bud Selig’s deadline on Thursday failed.

The high-stakes trade that would send A-Rod to the Boston Red Sox and Manny Ramirez to the Texas Rangers might not be dead, however, despite rhetoric to that effect.

It was difficult, in fact, to decipher posturing from the possibility that the historic trade could still be consummated, possibly as soon as today.

After all, sources said, it’s a trade that almost everyone involved in the process still wants and which Rodriguez’s agent, Scott Boras, and others are still working to resolve.

Boston President Larry Lucchino said otherwise in a statement.

The deal, Lucchino said, is indeed dead because of the intransigence of the union. He insisted that there are no ongoing negotiations, nor will there be.

By contrast, however, Texas General Manager John Hart said:

“The likelihood may be that the deal is dead, but I’m sure there will be additional conversations between [Texas owner] Tom Hicks and the Red Sox. There is still the opportunity for a deal and there is the opportunity for no deal.”

Two baseball officials with knowledge of Thursday’s developments said the Red Sox and Rangers made significant movement toward resolving some of the financial complexities before Selig terminated the discussions 20 minutes after his deadline.

The officials said it would not be a surprise if the deal was completed on the weekend, and the commissioner, in a statement, seemed to leave the door open for further negotiations, eliminating only Rodriguez’s direct contact with the Red Sox.

“I have terminated my permission for Boston and Alex Rodriguez to continue pursuing this trade at this time,” Selig said.

He did not define “at this time” but the Red Sox and Rangers can still talk, and Boras and the Rangers can still talk.

Said union lawyer Gene Orza: “If the parties continue to work at it I’m sure they can restructure the contract in such a manner that it doesn’t constitute a reduction of the overall value [in violation of the labor agreement] but a legitimate restructuring.”

Added Boras: “Each party now knows what Alex is willing to do to restructure his contract and how it can benefit an agreement.”

Thus, it may be only for the moment that:

* Rodriguez remains with the Rangers, where he doesn’t want to be.

* Ramirez remains with the Red Sox, who don’t want him.

* And Nomar Garciaparra, the incumbent Boston shortstop who would have been and will be traded if his team acquires Rodriguez, also remains with the Red Sox, meaning he will have to swallow his wounded feelings amid an uncomfortable environment if he is still with Boston in April.

“He’s our shortstop,” Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein said after Thursday’s deadline.

That could soon change.

Garciaparra will be traded to the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Magglio Ordonez if the Rodriguez deal is completed.

Whether the White Sox intend to keep Garciaparra or then trade him to another club, possibly the Dodgers, for a package of pitchers isn’t certain..

Dodger General Manager Dan Evans would not specifically address Garciaparra because of tampering restrictions, but referring generally to the Rodriguez/Ramirez trade and the subsequent byproducts of it, he said:

“There were a lot of clubs out there watching to see if one potential trade happened, but there was also a lot of conversation about other possible trades and free-agent signings. We’ve not put all our eggs in one basket at any point.

“If you sit around waiting for something to happen that you can’t control, it might never happen. We’ve always continued to consider our options and have discussions about potential free-agent fits and trades. Nothing that has happened has stopped us from moving forward.”

Perhaps, but the potential loss of Garciaparra and/or Ordonez after the failure to acquire Richie Sexson or Derrek Lee would significantly narrow their right-handed-hitting power options.

Meantime, this is where the Rodriguez/Ramirez situation sits:

A-Rod, according to sources, has agreed to move $12 million in a restructuring that the union would undoubtedly approve and is a far cry from the $30 million emaciation, to use Orza’s word, that the Red Sox initially proposed and was rejected by the union.

Clearly, sources said, the $30 million was an attempt by the Red Sox to have Rodriguez pay for the Ranger trade demands.

Texas, at that point, was asking the Red Sox to pick up all of the $179 million remaining on Rodriguez’s contract and to also help defray the $97.5 million left on Ramirez’s contract through 2008 by paying $5 million a year for six years, or $30 million.

On Thursday, according to sources, the Rangers lowered the six-year demand to three years, or a $15-million obligation for the Red Sox, which would be covered almost by the $12 million that A-Rod is willing to restructure.

“It’s hard to believe they can’t get this resolved now and that Lucchino is serious about the deal being dead,” a person with connections to the negotiations said.

“Hicks wants out from under the A-Rod contract, the Red Sox want A-Rod almost as much as he wants the Red Sox, and Selig wants to put A-Rod on the Fenway Park stage. Only Nomar may not want it to happen, and they’ve smeared him so badly he may be better off elsewhere.”

One thing is certain: While Lucchino was blasting the union for the second day in a row, and Bob DuPuy, baseball’s chief operating officer, was saying in a statement that it was unfortunate that the union took a legal position (on Wednesday) that prevented the two teams and two players from “effectuating an agreement they felt was beneficial,” A-Rod made it clear he is firmly behind the union.

Amid statements by Lucchino that seemed designed to drive a wedge between A-Rod and the union, and with Selig threatening to approve the Wednesday proposal that the union rejected, a move that would have sent the trade to arbitration and an uncertain timetable, Rodriguez issued a statement Thursday in which he said he fully understood the principle at stake for the union and that he fully supported the need to protect the interests of all players and not just himself. He said he would not approve any restructuring not within union guidelines.

“If my transfer to the Red Sox is to occur,” he said, “it must be done with consideration of the interests of all major league players, not just one. Any statements by club officials suggesting my position is different than stated is inaccurate and unfortunate.”

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The Contracts

ALEX RODRIGUEZ

*--* 10 Years, $252 Million * Salary -- Averaging $25.2 million a year. Includes a signing bonus of $10 million. * Deferred -- Includes $40 million in deferred payments plus 3% accrued interest from 2011 to 2020. * Opt Out -- Player may terminate contract after 2007, 2008 or 2009. * Escalator -- Team must increase salaries for 2009 and 2010 by the higher of $5 million or $1 million greater than the average annual value of the non-pitcher with highest annual value. * No-Trade Clause -- Player may not be traded without his permission * Award Bonuses -- Various award-based incentives.

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MANNY RAMIREZ

*--* Eight Years, $160 Million * Salary -- Averaging $20 million a year. Includes a signing bonus of $16 million paid over the first five years. * Deferred -- Includes $31 million in deferred payments starting in 2009, 2010 or 2011. Team holds options for 2009 and 2010 seasons. * Award Bonuses -- Various award-based incentives. * No-Trade Clause -- None, but he gets a complete or limited no-trade clause matching any the Red Sox give to any other player. Also includes a relocation bonus of $1 million if traded. Note -- Salary and contract details as obtained by Associated Press

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