The Chicago White Sox announced Monday afternoon that Manny Ramirez had been claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers and will join the team Tuesday in Cleveland.
The White Sox will be responsible for paying $3.825 million of Ramirez's contract this season.
With three trips to the DL this season and the inability to play defense, Ramirez will most likely slide immediately into the DH spot, which has been a black hole for the White Sox thanks to Andruw Jones and Mark Kotsay.
The White Sox have lost nine of the team's last 14 games and have fallen to 4.5 games back of the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central with three remaining against their division rival. The White Sox are about to begin a 10-game road trip that includes stops in Ramirez's former homes of Cleveland and Boston.
Ramirez should be in uniform for both series unless he plans on another trip to the DL.
Ramirez is batting .311 with eight home runs and 40 RBI but has only played in 66 games this season due to injury.
With dreadlocks flopping, Ramirez became a fan favorite in Los Angeles and performed so remarkably down the stretch of his first season that the Dodgers signed him to a two-year, $45 million deal.
After Ramirez's 50-game suspension due to a failed drug test and his injuries this season, Los Angeles' feelings toward him have soured. He has not spoken to reporters since spring training, when he announced this would be his last year in Los Angeles.
Ramirez has never handled disdain for a situation too well. In fact, he's been downright unprofessional, having those feelings spill out onto the field.
We saw what he did in Boston when he was not happy, eventually forcing a trade.
And how did he leave the Dodgers? By getting thrown out of the game by the home plate umpire, pinch-hitting with the bases loaded after seeing one pitch with his team hanging by a thread in the National League wild-card race.
Joe Torre even benched Ramirez for Scott Podsednik. Yes, you read that correctly. Manny Ramirez for Scott Podsednik. It sounds like a laughable offer you get from a friend in fantasy baseball.
What the White Sox have going for them is the fact that, like a child learning to walk, they aren't asking Ramirez for much. Be a great hitter who doesn't ever have to play the field for 31 games, and you will receive a good contract from some idiotic team in the offseason.
It's baby steps. Seeing as Ramirez is done pouting, perhaps he can start stepping.
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