Orioles reject trade for Manny Ramirez

Baltimore wants more for shortstop Miguel Tejada.
The Baltimore Sun
The Orioles lost one coveted outfielder Tuesday and have gotten no closer to trading for another.
Two club sources said Tuesday that the Orioles will not accept the Boston Red Sox's offer of All-Star outfielder Manny Ramirez, pitcher Matt Clement and cash for disgruntled shortstop Miguel Tejada.
While it still is possible that Tejada will land in Boston, it is clear that Orioles officials are looking for the Red Sox to sweeten the deal.
Speculation about the trade, which has been discussed for nearly a month since Tejada publicly requested a change of scenery, has heated up the past two days after free-agent outfielder Jeromy Burnitz, who had verbally agreed to a two-year, $12 million deal with the Orioles, broke off talks with the club and decided to sign elsewhere.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Tuesday that Burnitz had agreed to a deal with the Pirates, guaranteeing him one year at $6 million with an option for 2007.
Howard Simon, Burnitz's agent, confirmed that the Orioles had made the best offer with the two guaranteed years. However, Simon objected to certain language in the Orioles' contract regarding the physical that players must take before the signing becomes official.
"It definitely was us more than the Orioles," said Simon on the decision to break the verbal agreement, quashing speculation that the Orioles had pulled out of the deal because they were about to land Ramirez. "We didn't want to do it, but it had to do with some language that was unacceptable to us concerning medical examinations."
Unhappy Orioles
The deal fell through on Friday and Saturday, much the chagrin of the Orioles, who, according to an industry source, have voiced a complaint to the commissioner's office about how the negotiations were handled.
An Orioles official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that while the language on their standard contracts about physicals, is more extensive than other clubs', the organization essentially has the same medical requirements for the pre-signing physicals as most other teams.
The Orioles ask for a release of the player's medical records, a medical physical and an insurance physical.
"We had an agreement, and they backed out," said Orioles vice president Jim Duquette, who handled the negotiations involving Burnitz.
Left out
Burnitz's decision leaves the Orioles without a left fielder. They contacted the agent of free-agent outfielder Richard Hidalgo Tuesday, but the talks were general. Hidalgo, 30, a close friend of Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora, hit .221 last season with 16 homers and 43 RBIs in 88 games for Texas.