The Cubs virtually have no chance of bringing him back if Aramis Ramirez chooses to exercise a clause in his contract that allows him to enter the free-agent market halfway into his four-year deal. "I don't think it's any secret he might be the hottest free agent," Ramirez's agent Paul Kinzer said Friday. "There are probably 7 to 10 teams that will actively go after Aramis." Kinzer maintained Ramirez would prefer to remain a Cub, and he has let Hendry know that. "That's our first choice," he said. "And we have gotten pretty close [to an agreement]. But there's talk that if he'd be there, [Alfonso] Soriano and Aramis would probably be 1A and 1B among the free agents."