The 40-year-old slugger requested his outright release from the Oakland A's and the team granted that request on Friday, according to a tweet sent out by Major League Baseball.
Ramirez had been attempting a comeback after un-retiring in the offseason and serving a 50-game suspension, following a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs in 2011. He had initially and abruptly retired in April of that year rather than serve a 100-game suspension, but upon his reinstatement, the suspension was cut in half.
He was eligible to be called up on May 30, but was still mired in the A's minor league system as of today.
Ramirez, who spent parts of eight seasons with the Red Sox, is a lifetime .312 hitter. He ranks 14th on the all-time home run list with 555, and 18th on the all-time RBI list with 1,831.
Photo via Twitter/@si_vault
