If a team signs Manny Ramirez...??

[CSB Jack]

What are the roster implications for a team that signs Manny Ramirez? He has to serve a 50 game suspension so he would not be eligible to play for the first 50 games of the season. Does he have to remain on the 40-man roster during this time? I would think so. How about the 25-man roster? I would think not but am not certain. Is he suspended with pay or without pay? When is he permitted to play in the minors to get ready for MLB play?

I'm trying to get a sense of what the risk is for any team that would sign Ramirez, financially and from a roster management standpoint. Most sentiment that I have heard is against signing him (and I'm not sure I'm in favor of it myself), but from a purely risk/reward standpoint there might be some merit to a team like the Orioles signing him under certain conditions.

1. As long as he is not taking a spot on the 40-man roster from someone who has a real future with the team, stashing him away with the hope of having him available in June might not be a big deal.

2. If his contract is such that if you get no value from it you consider it a reasonable gamble for the potential upside when valued at most likely scenario (and not best case scenario) then financially it might make sense. I'm thinking something in the order of $1-1.5MM base plus incentives. I have no idea if Manny would consider such a deal, but I think his deal with TBR was around $2MM last year so it's possible, if he really wants to play MLB.

3. A best case scenario is that Manny realizes that this is his last shot and applies himself, with the caveat that he actually does have a little something left in the tank. Then a non-contending team can trade him to a contender for a marginal prospect, and in the meantime get good value from him for June and July. I place the probability of this outcome at less than 20%, but not at zero. A worst case scenario is he can't hit anymore so you eat the entire contract and cut your losses in June. This is similar to the Duchscherer situation from last year, though at a higher base. If you don't have to pay him during the suspension, that brings down the guaranteed outlay cost.

I don't need to know all the reasons NOT to sign Manny and I certainly won't be upset if the Orioles don't sign him, or feel deprived as a baseball fan if nobody does and he's played his last professional game. Mostly I'd like to understand the ramifications financially and to the roster for any team that does. Thanks in advance for your help.

[PaulFolk]

What are the roster implications for a team that signs Manny Ramirez? He has to serve a 50 game suspension so he would not be eligible to play for the first 50 games of the season. Does he have to remain on the 40-man roster during this time? I would think so. How about the 25-man roster? I would think not but am not certain. Is he suspended with pay or without pay? When is he permitted to play in the minors to get ready for MLB play?

Not sure about the last two questions. He would be on the 40-man roster during the suspension, but not on the active 25-man. Basically the same as if he were on the 15-day DL.