According to this tweet from Jon Heyman, the Rays signed both Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez:
#damon gets $5.25 mil from #rays plus 750 grand in attendance bonuses, manny gets $2 mil from rays. #doubleplay
Wow, that’s quite a platoon! Trips to Boston are going to be extra fun this year for Tampa Bay.
Of course, I suspect both will play most days. Manny would likely be the designated hitter, with Damon filling out the outfield if B.J. Upton or Desmond Jennings don’t live up to expectations. This gives Tampa two players who do a great job of getting on base and a lot more flexibility if they want to platoon at DH or leftfield.
If the Jays pick up Russell Branyan to fill the void at 1B, the Rays will have quite an offense. If not, the production at 1B should not be any worse than it was at DH last year.
Damons power numbers should improve at the Tropicana, and he also gets to hit at more hitter friendly parks in the AL East than he did with Detroit. Manny and Damon both work the count and get on base a lot. Crawford for all the hype did not work the count very well and his OBP was modest. Jennings should help replace Crawfords speed. Of course, defensively, Damon is a far cry from Crawford.
How Damon holds up playing on the turf in Tropicana is a question mark, but Manny as full time DH should stay healthy enough to be productive.