Manny Wouldn't Mind Being a Marlin

While I'm still having a hard time believing that the Red Sox would deal Manny Ramirez, after his latest comments, it seems that neither side has any real choice in the matter. While the Manny to the Marlins rumor I wrote about yesterday still doesn't work for me, I'm not the general manager of the Red Sox, and my opinion means nothing.

You know whose opinion does matter, though? Manny Ramirez's. After all, he'd have to approve of any deal before the Sawx can make it, and Theo Epstein doesn't have to worry about Manny blocking any trade to Miami. He's already approved it.

Embattled Red Sox superstar Manny Ramirez has agreed to be traded to the Marlins, SI.com has learned, but a deal has not been reached.

While the Red Sox, Marlins and Pirates are still negotiating details of the three-way mega-deal and nothing has been finalized by the teams, one major hurdle has been cleared by Ramirez accepting the deal ahead of time, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

The Red Sox approached Ramirez in advance of their negotiations, and got his OK. He signed off on the paperwork, contingent upon the two $20-million team options for 2009 and '10 being dropped. The move will set the stage for Ramirez to become a free agent this winter, assuming a trade can be completed by the three teams.

Obviously, if this deal happens it means the Red Sox will likely end up with Jason Bay playing left field, which would help offset the loss of Manny's offense. As hard as it is for me to believe all of this, I'm starting to think it's really going to happen.