Gene Mato, one of Manny Ramirez's representatives, communicated to Red Sox owner John W. Henry yesterday that Ramirez wants to be traded, and will not report to spring training if his wish to be dealt is not met, according to a team source. Ramirez is a 10-5 player, meaning he has 10 years of major league service, five consecutive with the same team. That seniority entitles Ramirez to block a trade to any team he doesn't wish to join. With that in mind, Mato told Henry that Ramirez might decide during the process of being shopped that he wishes to remain with the Sox. General manager Theo Epstein would neither confirm nor deny that Ramirez has requested a trade, but said late last night, ''Manny, his representatives, and the Red Sox have open lines of communication and will throughout the offseason. I think we all want whatever is in the club's best interest and Manny's best interest. [But] those conversations are private and completely confidential. For anyone to reveal the nature of those talks would be ridiculous. We have no comment." This comes only three months after Ramirez asked to be traded by the July 31 deadline, which CEO Larry Lucchino revealed July 28 in his weekly radio interview with WEEI. Lucchino that day called the slugger's request ''not anything unusual," saying it was the fourth time since Henry bought the team that Ramirez asked out. But Ramirez wasn't dealt. He remained with the team and made peace -- or publicly made a showing of making peace -- the morning of July 31, when he popped into manager Terry Francona's office and told the assembled media, ''I want to stay here for 2005 and win another World Series." He said nothing about remaining with the club beyond 2005. He is, of course, signed for three more seasons, at a total of $57 million, the balance on his eight-year, $160 million contract. Ramirez, along with one of his representatives, was scheduled to meet with Henry on Wednesday and discuss some of the issues in Ramirez's head. Henry, as of last week, wasn't expecting Ramirez to ask to be traded. A week ago yesterday, in an e-mail, Henry said he meets with Ramirez ''every six months or so, certainly every winter," and that he wasn't anticipating that this meeting would give rise to anything unusual.