Former Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez is interested in returning to the AL East.
It’s not with the Red Sox, though. It’s not with the Yankees, either. It’s not even with the Rays, a team the slugger was rumored to be traded to during last season. According to ESPN.com, Ramirez is interested in signing with the Toronto Blue Jays.
On the day that the Jays introduced former Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell as their 13th manager in team history, Ramirez told ESPN’s Enrique Rojas that the outfielder would be open to joining Toronto.
In fact, the hiring of Farrell is one of the main reasons Ramirez has interest in joining the Blue Jays.
“John has tremendous knowledge of the game, a very pleasant man and he trains ballplayers,” Ramirez told ESPNDeportes.com. “Toronto has made a great acquisition. Farrell is a manager for whom I would really like to play, and Toronto is a team I’ve liked since they had all those Dominican players in the 80s.”
The 38-year-old Ramirez will be a free agent this winter and said that he’s still very interested in playing.
“I still have a lot of baseball left in me. I think that I can still bat if I keep myself healthy, and it is less probable to have an injury playing as the designated hitter,” he said.
Ramirez hit .289 with nine home runs and 42 RBIs last season in just 90 games splitting time with both the Dodgers and the White Sox.
