Ramirez traded to Dodgers, Red Sox get Jason Bay
LOS ANGELES -- Manny Ramirez is heading west, a summer rental of sorts for the Los Angeles
Dodgers following an ugly exodus from Boston.
The
Dodgers acquired the future Hall of Famer from the exasperated
Red Sox on Thursday, giving up two minor leaguers in a stunning three-team trade that sent outfielder Jason Bay from Pittsburgh to Boston.
The
Dodgers also received cash considerations, general manager Ned Colletti said, in a deal that was completed just before the 4 p.m. EDT deadline for making trades without waivers.
The
Red Sox will pay the estimated $7 million owed to Ramirez through the end of the season, at which time he can become a free agent. Ramirez was in the final guaranteed year of an eight-year, $160 million contract, and the
Red Sox held $20 million options for the next two seasons.
As part of the trade, the club options were eliminated, meaning the mercurial slugger might be playing elsewhere next season.
Ramirez is expected to make his Los Angeles debut Friday night against Arizona's Randy Johnson in the second game of a four-game series. The
Dodgers trail the NL West-leading
Diamondbacks by two games.
"We figured we had to do it," Colletti said. "Hopefully it pays dividends. We're confident we've got one of the best hitters in baseball coming in here -- one of the best hitters of his generation from the right side. He's a champion, he's a winner, and we really couldn't be happier with trying to make the club better at this point in time than to do this.
"We wanted this player at least for the next two months, and hopefully longer. So we're willing to take the chance and go with this guy."
It appears the
Dodgers need some pop if they're to reach the postseason, much less experience playoff success. They have a dreadful postseason history since winning the World Series in 1988, qualifying only four times and winning just one game.
Former Boston teammates Derek Lowe and Nomar Garciaparra, now playing with the
Dodgers, were delighted with the move.
"I think people for some reason think he's lazy and a bad teammate and that he doesn't care," Lowe said. "He's none of the above. Does he do some goofy things? Absolutely. He does do some goofy things. But as far as preparation and knowing the game and wanting to win, there's no way you put up those numbers year in and year out unless you're a special talent and work at it. And he does both."
The 36-year-old Ramirez, who hit his 500th home run earlier this season, was batting .299 and led the
Red Sox with 20 homers and 68 RBIs. He is one of eight players to hit at least 20 homers in 14 consecutive seasons.
Among active players, Ramirez ranks third in RBIs (1,672), fifth in home runs (510), sixth in on-base percentage (.409) and seventh in batting average (.312). He also ranks eighth in baseball history, and second among active players behind only Albert Pujols (.620), with a .590 slugging percentage. His 2,318 hits rank 10th among active players and his 493 doubles are tied for fourth.
"It's nice to see we've done something like this, to make a push for the next two months," Garciaparra said. "He'll be just fine. Manny is really a simple person. He works extremely hard. He just wants to play baseball and go home and be with his family. How can you not respect and love a guy like that?"
As of early Thursday, it appeared Ramirez might be on his way to the Florida
Marlins. When those talks collapsed, the
Red Sox and
Pirates found a willing third partner in the
Dodgers.
Colletti said Boston general manager Theo Epstein got in touch with him early Thursday.
"It really wasn't many hours at all," Colletti said. "Theo reached out to me in midmorning and wanted to gauge our interest, and I said, 'You know what? We have an interest.' Then, we probably spent the next two-plus hours hammering it out. This wasn't on the board for very long."
Ramirez, the MVP of the 2004 World Series, remains one of baseball's best hitters and has enjoyed plenty of big moments in October. But his relationship with the
Red Sox soured -- again -- in recent months.
So now, Manny can be Manny on the West Coast.
"Manny being Manny can also mean he'll hit a lot of home runs and drive in a lot of runs," Colletti said.
Even before landing Ramirez, Los Angeles had a crowded outfield.
Dodgers manager Joe Torre has been juggling Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Andruw Jones and Juan Pierre.
"When a player like Manny becomes available, I don't think there's a manager in baseball who wouldn't say they're interested," said Torre, whose
Yankees teams went toe-to-toe with Ramirez for years. "Manny's certainly not a simple personality, that's for sure. He's complex. But I've seen him when he competes.
"I've had some colorful personalities on my clubs like David Wells and Jimmy Leyritz. If you feel somebody's going to help your club, you've got to find a way to make it work. And that'
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