Oakland Athletics Express Interest in Manny Ramirez

Enrique Rojas from ESPN Deportes Los Anegeles is reporting that the Oakland Athletics are very interested in adding Manny Ramirez as a designated hitter in 2012. The Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays have also shown some interest.

For Ramirez to return to Major League Baseball, he needs to sit out 50 games as a suspension for failing a drug test. He was reinstated from the voluntary retirement list by MLB on December 10, allowing him to sign with a team.

Ramirez has seen some tough times since the Boston Red Sox traded him in 2008. He saw some early success with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but struggled at the end and struggled with the Chicago White Sox. He signed with the Tampa Bay Rays before last season and had a difficult time before failing the test, and then retiring.

Ramirez, 39, is a 19 year MLB veteran and has 547 career home runs.