The Rays’ $2 million investment in Manny Ramirez certainly seems like a worthwhile gamble, but there’s no denying that the 38-year-old slugger seemed washed up during his stint with the White Sox last season. He hit just .261/.420/.319 with one homer and two RBI in 69 at-bats following the August deal. On the other hand, he came in at .311/.405/.510 in 232 at-bats prior to the trade, making him one of the NL’s 10-best hitters.
In all, Ramirez hit .298/.409/.460 with nine homers in 265 at-bats last season. Since returning from his 50-game PED suspension in July 2009, he’s had 525 at-bats and hit .284/.399/.476 with 22 homers.
So, let’s look at how some similar players hit in their age-39 years. Here’s a list of all of the players since 1961 to amass a .375 OBP and a .450 slugging percentage in at least 300 at-bats at age 38 and how they followed up in their age-39 seasons.
Gene Woodling - .313/.403/.471 (1961) - .276/.379/.424 (1962) - OPS+ 138 to 116
Hank Aaron - .265/.390/.515 (1972) - .301/.402/.643 (1973) - OPS+ 147 to 177
Willie Stargell - .295/.382/.567 (1978) - .281/.352/.552 (1979) - OPS+ 158 to 139
Ron Cey - .273/.384/.508 (1986) - .221/.359/.394 (1987) - OPS+ 138 to 107
Harold Baines - .301/.375/.458 (1997) - .300/.369/.451 (1998) - OPS+ 120 to 114
Edgar Martinez - .306/.423/.543 (2001) - .277/.403/.485 (2002) - OPS+ 160 to 139
Barry Bonds - .341/.529/.749 (2003) - .362/.609/.812 (2004) - OPS+ 231 to 263
Larry Walker - .289/.384/.502 (2005) - Retired
Moises Alou - .321/.400/.518 (2005) - .301/.352/.571 (2006) - OPS+ 138 to 132
Jeff Kent - .292/.385/.477 (2006) - .302/.375/.500 (2007) - OPS+ 133 to 119
Frank Thomas - .270/.381/.545 (2006) - .277/.377/.480 (2007) - OPS+ 140 to 125
Gary Sheffield - .298/.409/.460 (2007) - .225/.326/.400 (2008) - OPS+ 119 to 89
I have to say, the list fares a whole lot better than I expected. Cey, who simply had a last hurrah at age 38, doesn’t really belong in this group. Sheffield was the only player to fall apart, but he was playing with a shoulder that required surgery and he did rebound to a 119 OPS+ at age 40.
For the record, Ramirez’s OPS+ last year was 138. I don’t think he’ll bounce back with 30 or maybe not even 25 homers this season, particularly with how Tropicana Field has played as a pitcher’s park these last few years. Still, the OBP will be there and he should slug .450 anyway. He’ll be better than at least half of the league’s DH and a big improvement over the .238/.322/.391 line the Rays received from the spot last season.
