The Los Angeles Dodgers received a letter from Manny Ramirez's agent Scott Boras on Thursday, rejecting the offer the club made Wednesday.
The Dodgers offered the free-agent slugger a $25 million, one-year contract with a $20 million player option for 2010. The rejection is the fourth in the club's attempts to sign Ramirez.
"We love Manny Ramirez," Dodgers owner Frank McCourt said in a statement. "And we want Manny back, but we feel we are negotiating against ourselves. When his agent finds those 'serious offers' from other clubs, we'll be happy to restart the negotiations.
"Even with an economy that has substantially eroded since last November, out of respect for Manny and his talents, we actually improved our offer.
"So now, we start from scratch."
The Dodgers open the regular season April 6 at San Diego.
Ramirez hit .396 with 17 home runs and 53 RBIs in 53 games with the Dodgers last season while leading them to the NL West title after he was acquired from Boston at the July 31 trade deadline.
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