Manny’s last season in Boston?

Could this finally be the time where that statement is true? Boston Red Sox left field Manny Ramirez has asked for trades quite a few times in prior off-seasons but nothing ever happened. But could this truly be the time where his days in Boston are numbered? Yes it could be true. Manny is kind of in the last season of his contract. The reason I say kind of is that the Red Sox have $20 million options for 2009 and 2010. Pretty expensive rates for someone who will be 36 by then, so honestly this might be the time where we can say his days in Boston may be numbered.

Manny has said recently he wants to finish his career in Boston, but that he will not ask the team to pick up his option before the season. “I want to stay here, but it’s up to them if they want to bring me,” Ramirez said. “But if they don’t want to bring me back, that’s fine. I know I’ll be a free agent after ’08 so that’s another thing that I’m looking forward (to).” Team GM Theo Epstein also would prefer to wait, “We’re focused on 2008, Manny’s contract provides for the first of his options to be decided upon at the end of the year and there’s a time for that, but it’s certainly after the season. And we’re looking forward to Manny continuing to work hard and have a great year.”

Now lets look at this. Ramirez is coming off arguably one of this worst seasons. He had a .296 batting average with 20 homers and 88 RBIs. Those aren’t numbers that would warrant a team picking up a $20 million option. This is partly based upon health thou, remember Manny is 35 and his body didn’t hold up for the entire season. He did spend quite a bit of time on the DL and bench. In hopes of being in better shape he changed his off-season workout to get into better shape. He trained in Florida in past years, where he lives, but this year he decided to head to the Athletes’ Performance Institute in Arizona, a facility used by many major leaguers.

I, personally, see Manny finishing his career in Boston. If he has a rebound season, Epstein picks up his options no questions asked. If he struggles, they may decline the option, but I’m sure would still offer him enough money that he’d finish his career in Fenway. It will be interesting to see at the end of the season what happens. Or maybe even during the season if any turmoil hits the Boston clubhouse.

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Tags: Boston Red Sox, MLB