White Sox Wanted Manny, But Colletti Declined

After listening to ESPN 710 AM radio yesterday afternoon and hearing most callers favoring getting rid of Manny Ramirez, I was surprised to read this morning that Ned Colletti rejected an offer from the White Sox--until I realized the White Sox's offer included sticking the Dodgers with most of the bill:

Leave it to the White Sox to try to pull off a deadline shocker.

The White Sox, frustrated by their inability to land Adam Dunn, made a recent run at Dodgers left fielder Manny Ramirez, but their overtures were rejected, major-league sources say.

The inquiry from the White Sox on Ramirez came shortly after the Dodgers acquired Royals outfielder Scott Podsednik on Wednesday night.

The White Sox wanted the Dodgers to pay all but $1 million of the approximately $6.7 million remaining on Ramirez's contract and did not offer a player in return, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions.

“Not happening,” the source said.

Ramirez, currently on the disabled list with a right-calf strain, is on a rehabilitation assignment. He would need to waive his full no-trade clause for any deal. [...]

Ramirez also could be a trade candidate in August; he almost certainly would clear waivers due to his $20 million salary.

I've got my valentine to Manny Ramirez queued up in case he does get pitched from the Dodgers in the next 30 days, but I'll wait to post that until we find out if he's leaving the team. Admittedly, he isn't doing much this year besides spending a lot of time on the DL. But given the team's offensive woes, it seems a little odd to be getting rid of a potentially potent bat in the lineup (especially for nothing in return).