Manny Ramirez will turn 41 in May and hasn’t played in the bigs since early 2011, but that’s not stopping him from believing he can continue to be a Major League hitter.
Ramirez is coming off a sting playing winter ball for Águilas Cibaeñas of the Dominican Republic league. He had a .795 OPS in 99 at-bats for the club during the regular season, knocking four home runs and two doubles (including a homer in his first at-bat with the team). Now that the league’s season is over, Ramirez is looking for a spot in the spring.
FOXSports.com’s Jon Paul Morosi reported Tuesday that Ramirez received interest from the EDA Rhinos of the Taiwanese league. Ramirez confirmed to ESPN Deportes that he received interest from Taiwan, and he also said a team in the Mexican league is interested in him.
Though Manny will consider the offers, he told ESPN Deportes that he is still hoping for an offer from an MLB team.
“You can never rule out options, but right now I’m not interested in playing outside the United States in the summer,” Ramirez said Tuesday (via a translation). “I am not losing hope of receiving a call from a major league team at any time.
“I appreciate the interest and might consider the possibility of playing outside the United States, but that would be after I have exhausted all hopes of returning to the big leagues.”
Ramirez has been suspended twice under MLB’s drug policy and would face a lifetime ban if he tested positive a third time. The last time he tested positive was in April 201. Rather than face a 100-game suspension, he retired and walked out on the Tampa Bay Rays. The Oakland A’s signed Ramirez to a minor-league deal last year, but they released him in June after he failed to impress in 17 games with their Triple-A club.
