The Yankees added Manny Ramirez on Wednesday. No, not that Manny Ramirez.
This one is a right-handed pitcher who was on the Astros’ Low-A roster before the Yankees took him in the 2021 Minor League Rule 5 Draft. The Major League edition of the Rule 5 draft, like all other transactions, is currently off until the lockout is resolved.
Ramirez, a 22-year-old from the Dominican Republic, has been in the Astros’ system since 2017, but hasn’t registered any innings pitched in the minors since 2019. That year, pitching for Tri-City in the New York Penn league, he threw 37 innings with a 4.38 ERA. In two games at Single-A Quad Cities, totaling an inning of work, he gave up three earned runs.
He spent the 2021 season on the IL with the Low-A Fayetteville Woodpeckers.
His counterpart, the better-known Manny Ramirez, was last seen in Australia when he signed with the ABL’s Sydney Blue Sox as a player-coach in August 2020. The Blue Sox released him last January without making an appearance due to uncertainty regarding whether the season would be played and injuries that prevented Ramirez from playing.
The Yankees also added right-hander Steven Jennings from Pittsburgh’s High-A roster while losing Double-A right-hander Brian Keller to the Red Sox in the Rule 5 draft.