Manny Ramirez Will Not Join A’s When Eligible

Earlier this month it was announced that Manny Ramirez would join the Oakland Athletics on May 30, the day he was eligible to return from his 50-game ban.  While this was the initial plan, the A’s have now said that Ramirez will not be joining the club this Wednesday.  Oakland added that Ramirez will only join the A’s when he “is ready to contribute at the major league level”.

When the A’s signed Ramirez this spring they knew they would have to wait at least 50 games before calling up the enigma that is Man-Ram.  This 50-game suspension will be up Wednesday, but the A’s aren’t going to immediately place Ramirez on their major league roster.

Instead, the A’s will have Ramirez earn his way to the bigs by showing he can produce at the Triple-A level.  So far during his rehab stint in the minors, Ramirez has only mustered an 8-for-32 performance with no extra base hits.

Oakland’s general manager Billy Beane hoped Ramirez’s strong performance in the spring would carry over, allowing the veteran to make a quick transition from the minors to the majors.  However, the rehab stint hasn’t gone as smoothly as the A’s expected, and Ramirez will be added to Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate’s official roster on Wednesday when he is reinstated by Major League Baseball.

For more on the Athletics be sure to check out Swingin’ A’s.