Much to the chagrin of many baseball purists and fans of his former teams, the ever charismatic Manny Ramirez has returned to affiliated baseball, having signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers on Wednesday.
It has been reported that Ramirez will report to Texas' Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock today (July 4th) to begin working out with the rest of his Express teammates and will be activated shortly thereafter.
As in typical Manny fashion, his contract isn't so straightforward. In accordance with GM Jon Daniels' and President Nolan Ryan's no-nonsense attitude, part of Manny's contract states that the former slugger must cut his trademark locks and wear his uniform in a conventional fashion. So if Manny does indeed work his way back to the bigs, Rangers fans can expect to see a Manny who looks more like he did back in his Cleveland days, rather than in his Red Sox and Dodgers years.
While playing in Taiwan for the EDA Rhinos of the Chinese Professional Baseball League, Ramirez hit .352 with eight homers and 43 RBIs in 49 games. Those numbers were good for the third-best average and RBIs and a tie for the second-most home runs. While it's unclear how those stats will translate to Triple-A and Major League Baseball, they're a far cry from the .118 average (1-for-17) with one RBI that Manny hit in his five games with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011, prior to retiring due to a second performance enhancement suspension.
Prior to offering a contract, the Rangers' brass consulted with hitting coach Dave Magadan, who served in the same capacity during Manny's final two years in Boston. In an ESPN.com article by Todd Willis, Magadan was quoted as saying, "He's a born-again guy. That's a big part of his life. Hopefully that changes him in a good way. It usually does."
At first-glance this signing seems like a bit of a stretch for a team with one of the best records in baseball, however, when you look at the performance the Rangers are getting out of left field and DH, it certainly doesn't hurt for them to take a flyer on Ramirez and see what they can get out of the 41-year-old. He certainly can't do much worse than what they are getting out of David Murphy and Lance Berkman.
I do think that Manny can at least put up numbers similar to what he put up in Triple-A last season with Oakland's affiliate in Sacramento, where he batted .302 with a pair of doubles and 14 RBIs in 17 games for the RiverCats. However, if he is indeed capable of showcasing some of the power that he has in the past without using the crutch of performance-enhancing drugs, the Rangers just may have a capable left fielder and DH on their hands who possesses a much needed right-handed bat as well.
