Nearly 90 days have passed since Manny Ramirez became a free agent.

Only the Dodgers made an official offer to him. Only the Dodgers seem to have interest in the slugger. Therefore, only the Dodgers deserve to possess his services.

Less than 20 days remain until the Dodgers begin spring training in their new facility in Glendale, Ariz. Yet, the Dodgers still have not signed Ramirez, nor have they added more depth to their bullpen or starting pitching.

With the current roster, the Dodgers are true contenders in the NL West. However, adding Ramirez makes them favorites to win the division and perhaps perform slightly better than the squad did last season in the playoffs.

Bringing Ramirez back would signify belief and hope for all those miserable fans who have not seen the team in a World Series since 1988.

Bringing the dreadlocks back would mean that the rest of the players would enjoy and have fun playing baseball alongside the Dominican. Bringing back the future Hall of Famer would alleviate many of Joe Torre’s worries, not to mention Don Mattingly’s efforts to improve the hitting abilities of all the club’s youngsters.

Bringing back that unique Latin charismatic leadership would transform the Dodgers into a nightmare for most NL teams, including the Mets and Phillies. Bringing back the so-called “Manny being Manny” concept would enhance the Dodgers financial wealth, too.

Thus far, the team has re-signed Rafael Furcal and Casey Blake. They have signed veteran utility Mark Loretta, catcher Brad Ausmus, relief pitcher Guillermo Mota and starting pitcher Claudio Vargas. Hoping to compete and earn a starting role, pitcher Shawn Estes signed a minor league contract with the unit.

These signings are great, but the Dodgers need more acquisitions. They cut ties with Andruw Jones, thus attaining more potential funds for Ramirez. Jeff Kent and Greg Maddux have retired. Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, Takashi Saito, Angel Berroa, Pablo Ozuna, Jason Johnson, Scott Proctor and Chan Ho Park have signed elsewhere.

Whom should the Dodgers target? Reports indicate that they are in talks with starting pitchers Randy Wolf, John Garland and Braden Looper.