The Athletics appear to be the only team still 100 percent in the mix for Manny Ramirez, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but they'd like to add a reliever before making Manny their priority. According to Rosenthal, the Blue Jays were in on Manny at one point, but talks failed to progress. Orioles GM Dan Duquette, meanwhile, said that he doesn't see a fit for Ramirez in Baltimore last week.
As Rosenthal explains, Ramirez will be eligible to play in Spring Training games in spite of his 50-game suspension. He's also eligible to play in extended Spring Training, and can begin a 10-game minor league rehab assignment prior to the completion of his suspension to allow him to get some reps in before seeing Major Leaue action. Ramirez can work out with a Major League or minor league team prior to that, provided that he departs before the gates open that day.
Rosenthal writes that it's unclear whether other clubs are in the mix for the career .312/.411/.585 hitter. With the Blue Jays and Orioles seemingly out of the mix, it could be down to a one-team market for the oft-troubled slugger.
Wonder if they could get Manny to sign a minor league deal, serve his suspension in the minors, then get called up?
he can’t play in minor league games either.
He can go on a rehab assignment for 10 games at the end of his suspension and can play in spring training/extended spring training games.Â
Why can’t he play in the minors? Â If nobody wants to sign him, couldn’t he pass through waivers to go to AAA?
he still has to serve his suspension, then he can play where he wishes.
Oh yeah absolutely. Â I’m saying, let him serve his suspension then send him to AAA. Â If he hits well call him up. Â If not cut him. (That’s obviously the over-simplified version).
yah thats doable for sure..
I was just replying to the guy who said for manny to serve his suspension while playing MiLB games
Got it. Â My reply to you on the Cespedes/Soler thread sums up my views on that guy’s comment.
Ugh
a piece of me just died a little…sigh
ok maybe i exaggerated a little…at most
there really isn’t any room for manny, and there’s no upside to signing him in a rebuilding year when there’s MAYBE a 5% chance he builds any trade value and he certainly won’t be bringing back a draft spot.
edit: if the a’s could pick up mcclellan or uehara would be great. come on a’s, jump on it!
yeah its pointless
It’s actually not a bad idea.
Chris Carter and Kila figure to make the A’s at first base and DH, respectively. If either one of those guys fail, you send him down and bring up Manny to take his place.
i believe kila is out of options, and if either of them fail, and daric barton is doing well, give dh to allen, or if allen’s doing well, let gomes dh (and yes i understand he doesn’t hit righties well, but he’s already a $1million platoon, might as well turn him into a million dollar dh)
A’s interested in an over the hill DH type? Interesting strategy for them
unfortunately that’s the strategy they’ve been using since 06 when they struck gold with frank thomas.
now, if they planned on contending then i’d be all for this signing, but since this is a rebuild year and manny won’t bring back anything of value, there’s no point in signing him. yes he’d most likely be a better hitter than chris carter and kila kaiahue, BUT, at this point, i’d rather go for the guys under contract longer, let them rotate (give carter 300 PA’s then kila 300, or vice versa) and see if they can hit. if they can’t cut one or both and sign someone like big papi next offseason
i really dont see what the A’s have to lose… they arent going to win division
why not give him guarantee league minimum with a few million that are performance incentive based
they don’t have anything to lose…but also don’t have anything to gain.
the point of signing someone like him would be to possibly bring a prospect back or a draft pick, unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to do either.
we already have 2 guys that are bat-only guys who don’t have a spot at 1st on the roster, no point in adding a third
they have some guys who will DH kia kalua or whatever his name is, and chris carter… if one of those two guys are succeeding then manny won’t see any time. if they aren’t then, hello manny
From Manny’s side why would he want to sign with the a’s? Very very slim chance of being in post season and the contract wouldn’t be much money. I am surprised he even wants to still play. My bet is he is just stroking his ego and will not play at all.
Bad and useless move for Oakland. They won’t be contending this year and instead of giving AB’s to the glut of DH’s who can use them, they bring in a guy coming off a suspension with probably no future on the team and a known cancer who will have zero trade value if he’s actually playing by the deadline. He can maybe make a little sense for a few teams, but I don’t get this one other than a PR stunt.
The A’s, for all their players at the position, don’t have a single DH who has proven anything in the majors. Manny may never see a single pitch, but, at the league minimum, he’s a great fallback option if, 50 games in, Carter and Kila have busted. And, hey, if they don’t bust, then Manny meets the waiver wire.Â
Additionally, the biggest problem we have in Oakland is trouble attracting the casual fan. With all the roster upheaval (we lost our three most notable names this offseason), having a guy that everyone in the league recognizes will be good for the A’s. The only people who really dislike Manny are the hardcore fans who really follow baseball, and those fans will show up regardless of who is on the roster. Manny will attract fans.
Basically, this signing has a few potential upsides with little potential downsides. Manny isn’t coming back for the money; he’s coming back because he misses the game. If he shakes things up a bit in Oakland, so what? We could use it.Â
I don’t think enough people would show up just to see manny to justify the signing. the a’s had the same thinking with matsui bringing in a larger japanese crowd.Â
while matsui may have drawn more people to the games, it wasn’t enough to make the signing worthwhile, even if it had been a league minimum contract.
there’s not any downside to signing manny, but there really isn’t enough upside either, and storing him in AAA would just be pointless.Â
we already have jonny gomes for our backup plan in case kila/carter/allen don’t work out just THIS year.
Gomes is more of a fourth outfielder than a backup DH. I mean, the guy can’t even lift his bat against RHP – there’s no way he’s an everyday DH, at ANY level.Â
Matsui did bring in a larger Japanese crowd – in fact, every game I went to last year had noticeable Japanese fandom. Also, he was a different case; at the time, Carter was still thought of as a potential everyday player, and not a career minor leaguer approaching the point of make or break. Â
If you agree that there is no downside, then it’s hard to disagree with signing him. There’s no immediate upside, but there is opportunity for it.Â
i’m not saying manny won’t bring more people to the games. he just probably won’t bring enough to take up a roster spot from someone else. he also won’t bring a consistent crowd like matsui did, and matsui’s draw wasn’t close to big enough to justify that signing (same with his production).
with his upside, there’s no immediate upside, but there’s only a small chance for a long term upside, at best. the chances of him bringing in a prospect are slim at best, which is the best that the a’s could ask for, because he certainly wouldn’t bring back a draft pick.
about chris carter, he still could be a potential everyday DH, same with kila, and same with allen as long as they’re getting consistent at bats, but how are we going to find that out if manny is taking those away?
geren horribly mishandled carter when he was manager, and then he just didn’t get the chance  the second time around when melvin was around because matsui and allen were on hot streaks at the time
Kila, Carter, Allen are AAAA garbage and (almost) everybody knows it.
well stated!
Jeez, kmon Beane give these youngsters a chance, if you keep signing these veterans these youngsters wont have anytime to prove themselves!
Yeah! Let the youngsters prove themselves so we can then trade them away for more youngsters! And then repeat the process!
Sounds a lot like what happened with the Expos. Â I feel for you A’s fans.
by this point..even im tired of hearing this. obviously their rebuilding, waiting for a new stadium.
 I really can’t imagine the Blue Jays were ever in on Ramirez. It just makes little sense.
Billy Beane & co. need to carefully examine Ramirez’s medical records. Definite causes for concern.
AT the league minimum they don’t matter.
are you that desperate, mr. beane? rent a slugger from the angels’ minor league teams.
Just didn’t make sense for the Jays.
Snider/ Thames are ten times better than the unproven Ramirez any day.
I’m guessing this is sarcasm, but it’s sorely misplaced. You do know Manny has to serve a PED suspension, and even with his massive drop-off in production he would only bring bad publicity to the Jays, right?
I can’t wait to buy the jersey
The fact that Manny is getting another chance and Magglio has no job is a perfect example of why the whole american dream “hard work is rewarded” thing is bunk.
Yeah poor Magglio and the American dream millions of dollars later
Nothing poor about him, but it stinks to see a classy guy that’s worked hard to come back from injuries left in the cold while a steroid pumping clubhouse-cancer gets 3, 4, and 5 chances.
he did it too!
Manny will do great this comming season…
The reason why the A’s want manny is because he brings in the media! He brings people to the ballpark. Yes they are rebuilding, but how else will they make a profit this year? All they care about is the money they will make off this guy. The Jerseys, shirts, food at the ballpark.
yeah, you’re right, but I mean, who doesn’t?
The upside to Manny is 45 homers, 35 doubles, 100 rbi, prorated to his suspension. I see no downside. The man is a monster and can only help a team.
Unless he gets caught for PED use again.
I don’t understand why MLB is giving this creep so many breaks.