Let the waiver madness begin!
Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com reports that the Dodgers have placed Manny Ramirez on waivers. According to Morosi, teams have until Friday to place a claim. If he is claimed, the deadline for a deal would be next Tuesday.
Ramirez, who was activated from the disabled list Saturday, just became eligible to be placed on waivers on Monday. The 38-year-old slugger is 0-for-7 with three strikeouts in two games since returning to the lineup.
The White Sox reportedly plan to place a waiver claim on Ramirez, but he’s no lock to make it to them. Of course, any team that makes a claim absorbs the potential risk that the Dodgers could just dump Ramirez and the $4-plus million remaining on his contract. The Rays have also been mentioned as a potential landing spot.
Ramirez isn’t the same player he was even two years ago, and his failure to stay on the field this season has a lot to do with that, but he is still batting .306/.396/.497 with a 894 OPS over 193 at-bats this season. Numbers aside, the mere presence of his right-handed bat down the stretch could make a real difference for a contender.