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Manny Ramirez

Manny Ramirez Retires

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Manny Ramirez has retired, Major League Baseball announced. MLB says it notified Ramirez of "an issue" under its drug program and that the longtime slugger decided to retire instead of continuing with the process. 

Ramirez would have faced a 100-game suspension if he hadn't retired, because he tested positive for a banned substance, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times (on Twitter). The positive test occurred in Spring Training, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). It would have been Ramirez's second major drug-related suspension; he was suspended for 50 games after a positive drug test in 2009.

Five games into his one-year, $2MM contract with the Rays, Ramirez's brief tenure in Tampa is over. He went 1/17 with a single and an RBI, getting booed by his own fans in the process. The Rays did not anticipate this development.

"We are obviously surprised and disappointed by this news," the club said in a statement. "We will have no further comment on this matter."

Ramirez ends his 19-year big league career with 2574 hits, 1831 RBI, a .312 batting average, a .411 on-base percentage and a .585 slugging percentage. The 12-time All-Star ranks 14th all-time with 555 homers and 9th all-time with a .996 OPS. Ramirez played for the Indians, Red Sox, Dodgers, Rays and White Sox, winning nine Silver Sluggers, two Hank Aaron Awards and the 2004 World Series MVP. He earned over $200MM in his career, according to Baseball-Reference, but won't earn the bulk of his agreed upon 2011 salary.

AL East Links: All Five Teams

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Plenty of storylines in the AL East this year; here are a few…

  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos talked to Jeff Blair on the Fan 590 yesterday, and Andrew Stoeten of Drunk Jays Fans has highlights.  Anthopoulos talked about Aroldis Chapman, Frank Francisco, Brett Lawrie, and Juan Rivera among other things.
  • Much has been written lately about Rays' manager Joe Maddon's attempt to handle Manny Ramirez.  Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald has quotes from the manager today.  ESPN's Jayson Stark tackled the Manny-Rays topic in depth yesterday, with one veteran big league coach and manager asserting, "I know one thing.  It will end horribly."
  • Despite being knocked around yesterday, Yankees pitcher Sergio Mitre told Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, "That's one thing that never even crossed my mind – whether I'm making the team or not."  Mitre seems to be battling Freddy Garcia for a long relief job.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman talked about how Jesus Montero's defense seems to be slipping in tandem with his batting slump, in this article from Feinsand's colleague John Harper.  Montero might be best served at Triple-A for development and trade value purposes.
  • Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has extensive quotes from Adrian Gonzalez's agent John Boggs, as the good vibes about an April extension continue.  WEEI's Alex Speier explains that trading for Gonzalez rather than signing him as a free agent gives Boston a more desirable slice of the first baseman's career and also saves them perhaps $25MM or more.  I think the value of the careers of the prospects given up easily surpasses that amount of savings, but that's slightly negated by the Sox not having to give up a draft pick to get Adrian.
  • Orioles president Andy MacPhail admitted to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun that service time is a factor in their decision whether to have top prospect Zach Britton break camp with the team.  At least he's being upfront about it.  Britton has allowed one run in 14 innings this spring.
  • Here's how the AL East stacks up in Baseball America's organizational talent rankings: the Rays are #2, the Blue Jays are #4, the Yankees are #5, the Red Sox are #17, and the Orioles are #21.

Heyman On Phillies, Tigers, Manny, Rays

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The Phillies have “tapped out” their payroll and have “nothing brewing” on the Michael Young front, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Here’s the latest from Heyman as the Phils contemplate whether or not to pursue new free agent Luis Castillo…

  • The expectation is that Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski, whose contract expires after the season, will be back. Dombrowski declined to comment on the matter.
  • Manny Ramirez wanted to play for the Rays or the Blue Jays this year, according to Heyman. Rumors linked Ramirez to Toronto early in the offseason, partly because of the slugger’s affinity for incoming manager John Farrell and partly because he rooted for the great Dominican Blue Jays of the 1980s.
  • Team officials say Rays infielder Elliot Johnson has been very impressive this spring.

Indians Notes: Masterson, Bonderman, Carmona

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Paul Hoynes and Terry Pluto at the Cleveland Plain Dealer have the latest on the Tribe….

  • In a mailbag, Hoynes explains that the Indians likely didn't consider bringing back Manny Ramirez because they preferred to add a player who could handle the outfield – like Austin Kearns.
  • Within the same article, Hoynes says that the Red Sox have approached the Indians multiple times about the possibility of re-acquiring Justin Masterson. The Indians aren't likely to move the right-hander, but Hoynes points out they'd be "silly not to listen."
  • Hoynes also adds that he still thinks Jeremy Bonderman could become an Indian, on a minor league deal. However, he doesn't see the team signing Kevin Millwood unless the veteran's asking price goes down.
  • In a separate piece, Fausto Carmona tells Hoynes that he's happy in Cleveland and unfazed by trade rumors involving him: "I never read the newspaper in the Dominican Republic. I can't control the situation. A lot of people see something on the Internet and call me and say do you know about this trade? I just tell them I'm ready to play, no matter what the situation."
  • Pluto says he's come around on the Orlando Cabrera signing after finding out it was only for $1MM. He notes that, if Cabrera plays well, the Tribe could turn him into a midseason trade chip as they did with Russell Branyan last year.

Rays Notes: Manny, Damon, Boras

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The Rays are officially introducing Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez today and the former Red Sox have lots of good things to say about their new team. Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times has the details (all links go to Twitter):

Rays Sign Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez

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The Rays have officially signed Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez, the team announced. Damon's deal is worth $5.25MM plus a potential $750K in bonus money based on attendance and Ramirez's deal is worth $2MM. Both players are represented by Scott Boras. 

We first heard that Damon and the Rays were discussing a deal, and that Tampa Bay was a "leading suitor" for Ramirez.  According to Newsday's Ken Davidoff (via Twitter), Boras pitched the idea of both of his clients signing with the Rays "as a package deal" given that both players were interested in playing for Tampa Bay.

The signings reunite Damon and Ramirez, who played together in Boston from 2002 to 2005, and it also brings both men back to the AL East.  Ramirez was a Type A free agent and Damon a Type B, but since neither player was offered arbitration (by the White Sox and Tigers, respectively), no compensatory draft picks are involved.

Damon likely moves into a corner outfield position (with Desmond Jennings filling the other spot), while Ramirez will be Tampa Bay's new DH.  Damon could also see some playing time at DH against right-handed pitching.  Damon hit .271/.355/.401 with 36 doubles for the Tigers last year.

In spite of injuries and controversy that led to his trade from the Dodgers to the White Sox, Ramirez still posted a .298/.409/.460 slash line in 320 plate appearances in 2010.  On a $2MM contract, Ramirez will be one of the winter's biggest bargains if he comes close to repeating that performance in 2011 over a full season.

Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated first reported the deal and added detail on Damon's incentives. For more on today's press conference, click here.

Rays, Jays & Angels Links: Manny, Damon, Wells

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Unsurprisingly, there is still plenty of chatter going on about yesterday's Vernon Wells trade as well as the Rays' agreement of terms with both Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon. Let's round up the latest…

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears from his sources that the Rays would not have taken one player without the other. It was either both Manny and Damon, or neither.
  • Rosenthal wonders if Ramirez will be happy making just $2MM, and if the Blue Jays would have caved and sent even $20MM to the Angels in the Wells trade had they been asked to do so (Twitter link).
  • The acquisition pushes the Angels' 2011 payroll up to about $145MM according to Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times. He also notes that the team has about $29MM coming off the books after the season in the form of Fernando Rodney, Scott Kazmir, and Gary Matthews Jr.
  • One long-time talent evaluator told ESPN's Buster Olney that the Blue Jays would have had to eat "at least $30 million" for the trade to make sense for the Angels (Insider req'd).

Heyman On Fielder, Papelbon, Rays, Giants

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Prince Fielder is looking to join the $200MM club and the Red Sox considered trading Jonathan Papelbon to the A's or White Sox, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Here are the details and the rest of Heyman's rumors:

  • Fielder is looking for at least eight years and $200MM or so when he hits free agency after the season, according to Heyman. Not surprisingly, the Brewers don't like the idea of committing that much to their first baseman.
  • The Red Sox talked to the A's and White Sox about Jonathan Papelbon. Boston appeared willing to offer Rafael Soriano a one-year deal and make him their closer. If the sides had agreed to a deal, the Red Sox would have sent Papelbon elsewhere, likely to Oakland or Chicago
  • The Rays, who are moving toward a deal with Johnny Damon, have also considered Vladimir Guerrero, Manny Ramirez, Russell Branyan and Nick Johnson.
  • The Yankees hope to hear from Andy Pettitte soon, but the lefty is still mulling retirement.
  • The Giants appear to be nearing a one-year deal with Andres Torres. As our Arb Tracker shows, Torres filed at $2.6MM and the Giants countered with $1.8MM.
  • Heyman says there's "scuttlebutt" that the Rangers could look to lock Josh Hamilton up on a multiyear deal. 
  • Heyman talked to executives about Joey Votto's new deal and arrived at the conclusion I reached after talking to insiders earlier in the week: the Reds didn't appear to gain much from their deal with the reigning NL MVP.
  • Heyman points out that Jose Bautista's representatives will have to convince arbitrators to overlook the string of pedestrian seasons that led up to Bautista's mammoth 2010 campaign. For more on Bautista's case, click here.

Rays, Damon Discussing Deal

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12:58pm:  For the right price, the Rays could add Damon and Manny Ramirez or Vladimir Guerrero, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Damon would take over left field and the other hitter would DH.

11:15am: The Rays are discussing a deal with Damon, but a source tells ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that the Yahoo report below is "very premature." However, a deal between the Rays and Damon "certainly could happen."

7:53am: The Rays are nearing a deal with Johnny Damon, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (on Twitter). There is still work to be done before the sides reach an agreement, however. Agent Scott Boras represents Damon.

The 37-year-old hit .271/.355/.401 with 69 walks and 36 doubles for the Tigers last year. He played 36 games in the outfield, but was primarily the team's DH. His role with the Rays would figure to be similar in 2011. Though he drew interest from at least one NL club (the Dodgers), Damon seems best suited for a job in the American League as he enters the 17th season of his career.

If Damon signs with the Rays, Vladimir Guerrero and Manny Ramirez would likely lose leverage. The Angels, meanwhile, would lose a leadoff option and could turn to free agent outfielder Scott Podsednik.

Rays, Rangers Leading Suitors For Manny

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The Rays and Rangers appear to be Manny Ramirez's most aggressive suitors, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). ESPNDeportes' Enrique Rojas included the Angels on his list of teams pursuing Ramirez when he suggested yesterday that the slugger would sign by early next week.

The Rays are discussing a deal with another Scott Boras client, Johnny Damon. Meanwhile, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports that the Rangers are definitely interested in Ramirez. As Sullivan points out, adding the 38-year-old would probably cut into Mitch Moreland's playing time and lead to more playing time at first for Michael Young.

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