Manny Ramirez’s wife says he’s in talks to play baseball again

Associated Press
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When last we saw Manny Ramirez, he was serving as a hitting consultant for the Cubs organization, splitting time between Chicago and Iowa. Before that he was a player/coach — emphasis on the “coach” — for their Triple-A club. Before that he played 49 games in Taiwan.

He has not played in the big leagues since he did a five-game stint for the Rays in 2011. The fact that his big leage career ended in a couple of PED suspensions suggests that, even five years ago, his body was not up to challenge of big league ball anymore.

But it seems he may wish to play pro ball again, at the age of 44. At least so says his wife. She tells TMZ that Manny is in talks with a professional baseball team outside of the United States. And that he’s training super hard:

“He is training extremely hard . . . Batting, CrossFit, Orange Theory. He never stops. I told him, ‘Go for it!’ Baseball is the love of his life other than his family and I totally support him 100% … ’cause I know how much it means for him.”

Ramirez is on the Hall of Fame ballot this year. Will he be on a professional roster someplace too? Related: will it be in a league with a strong anti-drug policy? Just tryin’ to plan for future posts, you guys.

Yankees place Nestor Cortes on 15-day injured list with left rotator cuff strain

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
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The Yankees placed Nestor Cortes on the 15-day injured list with a left rotator cuff strain that will sideline the left-hander for at least two starts.

The move is retroactive to Monday and Cortes will be shut down for at least 15 days.

After Tuesday’s game, Cortes said the shoulder has been bothering him between starts and more so after he pitched five innings May 30 in Seattle.

“I took two days off and when I got to LA and threw that first day, I didn’t feel right,” Cortes said Tuesday. “But it was first day coming back from pitching so I knew it was going to be nagging a little bit. So I waited a little bit.

“That second day in LA was when I said something because it felt like I had pitched yesterday. So I wasn’t recovering in time.”

Cortes is 5-2 with a 5.16 ERA in 11 starts and has particularly struggled later in outings. Opponents are hitting .447 when facing him for the third time in a game.

Last year, Cortes was an All-Star and went 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA in 28 starts.

Randy Vásquez was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre to take Cortes’ spot in the rotation and will make his second career start in Thursday’s doubleheader. Vásquez made his major league debut May 26 against San Diego when the Yankees needed a starter because Domingo Germán was serving a 10-game suspension for using sticky substances.