Agent: Manny Ramirez should be signed by the start of spring training

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Manny Ramirez should be signed by the start of spring training, his agent said Tuesday night.

“I can’t put a timetable on this, but I know that spring training is a long time away,” Scott Boras said. “At this pace, I anticipate that we would have something done by then. Things are progressing for Manny.”

Players will start to report to spring training on Feb. 14.

The possibility that Ramirez could still be a free agent on that date appeared to increase in recent weeks, as he wasn’t making significant progress in his talks with the Dodgers and hadn’t received any known offers from any other teams. But Boras said that the market for Ramirez has started to take shape in the last week and that he has started to negotiate with other teams on behalf of his client.

“The train has left the station,” Boras said.

Boras, who didn’t provide any details about Ramirez’s other suitors, said he continued his talks with the Dodgers on Tuesday.

The Dodgers made a two-year, $45-million offer to Ramirez in November that has since expired. Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti said last week that he was still waiting for Boras to make a counteroffer.

“I have made clear the proposal we would have to have to make a deal with a major league team,” Boras said. “Ned has a very clear understanding of what it would take to sign Manny.”

So do the other teams in negotiations with Ramirez, Boras added.

Boras wouldn’t say if he informed the Dodgers of Ramirez’s asking price -– a four-year deal with an option for a fifth year, according to sources -– or made a formal counteroffer. The Dodgers do not equate an asking price with a counteroffer and Colletti said last week that the Dodgers wouldn’t consider improving their offer without a sign from Boras that he would be willing to scale back his demands.

-- Dylan Hernandez