The Rangers have agreed to sign Manny Ramirez to a minor league deal, a major league source tells Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The 41-year-old recently left his Taiwanese club, the EDA Rhinos, to try to get back to the big leagues for the first time since 2011. The move has been confirmed by Texas via press release.
Ramirez, a Barry Praver client, will report to Triple-A Round Rock. Late last month, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe spoke with a scout who watched Ramirez and was told that he can "still hit with the best of them." The slugger told the Rhinos that he missed his family in New York, but in June, Praver told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that his client wanted to free himself in order to play in MLB once again.
Ramirez played in just five games for the Rays in 2011 before testing positive for elevated testosterone, which would have netted him a 100-game suspension. He agreed to retire instead and when he returned in 2012 in the A's system, he served a 50-game suspension in the minors. Unable to get into a groove, he eventually took his release from Oakland.
Texas needs a big right-handed bat given Lance Berkman's recent struggles and they're hoping that Ramirez, who comes with minimal risk, could be the answer.
