YOUR AD HERE »

White Sox awarded waiver claim on Dodgers’ Ramirez

Jay Cohen, The Associated Press

CHICAGO – Manny Ramirez could soon find himself in another AL pennant race.

The Chicago White Sox have been awarded a waiver claim that gives them exclusive bargaining rights to the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Friday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement has been made.



The White Sox and Dodgers have until 1:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday to complete a trade. The Dodgers could also let Ramirez go and the White Sox would assume his salary, or they could keep Ramirez if they believe they’re still in contention for a playoff spot.

The Dodgers are coming off a three-game sweep of Milwaukee and were five games behind in the NL wild-card race entering Friday night’s matchup against the Colorado Rockies. The White Sox were 3 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central before playing the New York Yankees on Friday night.



The 38-year-old Ramirez would likely become the designated hitter in Chicago, especially considering his recent fragile history. Ramirez returned Aug. 21 from his third stint on the disabled list and has missed 59 games to injuries since last season, when he came back from a 50-game suspension following a failed drug test.

The former Indians and Red Sox outfielder joined the Dodgers in 2008 and instantly became a fan favorite, with a section of seats named in his honor at Chavez Ravine and wigs that mimicked his dreadlocks suddenly becoming fashionable. Ramirez performed so well down the stretch his first season in Los Angeles that the Dodgers signed him to a two-year, $45 million contract.

The injuries and suspension have soured his stay, though, and Ramirez hasn’t spoken to reporters since spring training, when he said this would be his final season with the Dodgers.

Ramirez’s salary is $20 million, but only $5 million is due this year, with the rest to be paid over the next three years. He also has a full no-trade clause in his contract that would allow him to veto a trade or waiver claim.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around the Lake Tahoe Basin and beyond make the Tahoe Tribune's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news.