Manny Ramirez is currently a free agent. Manny Ramirez ranks 32nd all-time in OBP, ninth all-time in slugging, ninth all-time in OPS, and 14th all-time in home runs. Wow, Manny Ramirez must be generating a ton of interest!
SI: The One Good Fit For Manny Ramirez
Of course, he is not, for a variety of reasons with which you're already familiar. Recent reports have Ramirez trying to decide whether to pursue a contract with the A's, Blue Jays or Orioles. Which of those would work the best as a destination? Cliff Corcoran has an idea:
The Orioles, however, might be the perfect team for Ramirez. Wilson Betemit is in desperate need of a right-handed platoon partner at DH (he's a .246/.299/.385 career hitter against lefthanded pitching), and that arrangement would allow Ramirez to ease himself back into the major league grind, reducing his chance of injury. Besides, there are no prospects like Chris Carter or Michael Taylor that he'd be taking at-bats away from in Baltimore the way he would in Oakland.
The man in charge in Baltimore is Dan Duquette. Dan Duquette is in charge of a mess. Dan Duquette is also the guy who gave Manny Ramirez an eight-year contract worth $160 million many moons ago. If anybody makes sense for Manny Ramirez, it’s probably the Orioles, who could use the attention. Signing Ramirez would do little to contend claims that the Orioles are a baseball sideshow, but I’ve heard that any publicity is good publicity. Manny could bring people to the park, at least for a little while.
Manny’s facing a long suspension. After that, he’s going to be rusty. He’s 39 years old. At this point, Manny Ramirez doesn’t deserve much more than a job with the Orioles. And at this point, the Orioles might not be able to do a whole hell of a lot better.
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