Looks like Manny Ramirez’s playing days aren’t over just yet. The 39-year-old veteran outfielder, who immediately retired at the beginning of last season following his second known positive test for performance enhancing drugs over his career, signed a minor league deal worth $500,000 with the Oakland Athletics on Monday.

Ramirez had one hit in just seventeen at-bats and five games with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011 before calling it quits. He was well aware that with this being his second violation of MLB’s drug policy that he would have been required to miss 100 games, and therefore, decided to apparently walk away from the game on April 8.

At MLB’s winter meetings this past December, word got out that Ramirez had applied for reinstatement back into the league. The Commissioner’s Office granted it to him and decided to cut the original suspension he faced in half, down to 50 games, after considering the fact that he essentially sat out the majority of last season anyway, which was a punishment in itself.

Not many teams showed interest in Ramirez, but the A’s figured there would be no harm in giving him a low-cost minor league contract and an opportunity to make the Major League club. Oakland expects Ramirez to join the team at their spring training facility in Arizona this Friday. Manager Bob Melvin certainly supported the signing.

“I watched some video of him and saw the swing. It didn’t look any different, and it looked like he was in good shape,” said Melvin on Tuesday. “He’ll be ready to go with the position players, and we’ll see what he has to offer.”

Ramirez is easily regarded as one of the greatest offensive players of both his generation and of the entire modern era. Since beginning his career with the Cleveland Indians in 1993, the 12-time All Star, 9-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and 2004 World Series MVP has hit .312, driven in 1,831 runs, and ranks 14^th on the all-time home run list with 555 long balls.

“He is one of the best right-handed hitters I’ve ever seen,” said A’s general manager Billy Beane. “This is a guy who combines power with on-base percentage along with a high batting average. He’s a unique player.”

Ramirez is best known for his time in Boston with the Red Sox from 2001 to part of 2008, where he played a key role in the team breaking its 86-year World Series drought with a sweep over the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004, along with its 2007 World Series sweep of the Colorado Rockies.

The Red Sox front office and Ramirez no longer saw eye-to-eye by 2008, and he was subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He remained in L.A. until he was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 2010. He would sign with the Rays the following year. Despite all of the bouncing around during the latter part of his career, Ramirez believes he can still be a productive Major League player.

“I’m feeling really good, mostly on a spiritual level. I’m very confident with the shape I’m in heading to spring training,” said Ramirez in an interview on a Dominican radio station. “There were three teams interested, but I left God to decide, and that’s why I signed with the Oakland A’s. I’m only coming back because I always loved baseball, ever since I was little kid. I have a passion for the sport, and I know I can still play.”

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And the winner of the Yoenis Cespedes sweepstakes is… the Oakland A’s?

That’s right. According to mlb.com, the Oakland Athletics agreed to terms with the highly sought after 26-year-old Cuban outfielder on Monday. The deal is reported to be worth $36 million over a four-year span, but will not be officially announced until a physical has been passed.

“I am super happy because it’s been a dream of mine for a long time,” said Cespedes from the Dominican Republic. “To leave my country and play in the big leagues is what the goal was. My family is really happy, too. They are living their dreams through me.”

The 6-foot, 215-pound Cespedes had been at the top of the list for a number of Major League clubs once he was officially named a free agent on January 25 after recently making his way from Cuba to the Dominican Republic. Amongst this grouping of teams were the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, the Oakland A’s, and the odds-on favorite by many, the new-look Miami Marlins.

Given that Miami is both filled with Hispanic heritage and is pretty much just a hop, skip, and a jump from Cespedes’ native Cuba, the popular sentiment was that he would likely sign with the Marlins, who reportedly offered him a six-year deal somewhere in the neighborhood of $36 and $40 million, only a few days prior.

The Marlins have not shied away from spending the big bucks to bring in the best available talent this winter, as they have committed a total of $190 million in signing superstar shortstop Jose Reyes, veteran left-handed starter Mark Buehrle, and one of the more underrated closers in the game, Heath Bell. Miami also gave Ozzie Guillen a four-year, $10 million contract to be the team’s first manager in their brand new ballpark.

Even though he would not admit it, $9 million a year from the A’s might have been what caused the Marlins to lose out in the end. “It was a great process, training and working out for teams. It was a difficult decision to leave Cuba, but I’m really excited with how things worked out. I saw a bunch of teams, and they saw me, too, but Oakland was the best for me.”

Cespedes is a power-hitting center fielder that will easily be able to slide right into the middle of an Oakland lineup that – to say the least – struggled in that department last year, ranking 12 in the American League with a mere total of 114 home runs.

In the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Cespedes made a name for himself on an international stage, hitting .458 in six games. His 2010-2011 season, which was his eighth and final season playing for Granma in the Cuban League, certainly confirmed that he was the real deal, as he hit .333 with 99 RBI and a record 33 home runs in just 90 games.

“My first goal is to make the team and stay healthy all season, and little by little, I’ll make more goals,” Cespedes said. “I’ve been preparing every day for this, and I 100 percent believe that I am ready for the Major Leagues. I have a lot of international experience and experience at a high level. I’m very confident in my abilities.”

He continued, “Believe me, I’m going to give the best I have, and I’m going to leave it all on the field. I’ll do my best and show I deserve this opportunity. I know I can do it. I’m ready.”

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AL East

Rays: Although this team won the highly competitive AL East last season, it will be a tough feat to repeat. They lost some major components from last year’s pennant team including Matt Garza, Carlos Pena, and Carl Crawford. The team did add veterans Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez, and although they will definitely contribute offensively, they are past their prime, and don’t fill the giant shoes left behind by the key departures. The team still has a lot of talent with Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton, David Price, and James Shields, but the AL East is that much better this year, and the Rays will have a tough time keeping up with the Yankees and Red Sox.

Yankees: This is a classic Yankees team with All-Stars at every position. The only question on this team is the rotation that is after C.C. Sabathia. Phil Hughes is becoming a nice player, but A.J. Burnett had a rough go last year. After these three pitchers there are a lot of question marks which could make it tough for the Yankees to keep up with the Red Sox, especially in a division so loaded with offensive talent. The Yankees will compete for the division, but will likely take the wild card again this year.

Red Sox: This team is built to win the World Series, and is my favorite to represent the American League this season. They filled all their holes in the off-season, adding Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, to load up their lineup. They also have the best rotation in the AL, their No. 5 starter, Daisuke Matsuzaka, would be a No. 2 on most major league teams. It is nearly impossible to see a letdown in Boston, and this team should be a treat to watch all season long.

Blue Jays: They were surprisingly competitive last year, even after the departure of Roy Halladay, but the average baseball fan can’t name a single player on this young team. Without stars, this division is simply too tough to win, and the Blue Jays will continue to be a second tier team in this division until they can gather, or grow some stars.

Orioles: Buck Showalter got this team fired up last year after taking over this perennial cellar dweller, but it’s going to be awhile before the Orioles are back to competing for championships. The team is headed in the right direction, but a highly competitive 40-man roster is impossible to build overnight, even if they did have the money of the Yankees or Red Sox. The additions of Derrek Lee and Vladimir Guerrero are a good start, but the team still has a young rotation, and it’s tough to win in the AL with subpar pitching.

AL Central

Twins: Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer continue to drive this team which always seems to be competing for the division and the playoffs. Their rotation is pretty solid, topped by Francisco Liriano, and the team has a legitimate shot to win the division again this year. The Central has gotten better as the White Sox made some moves, but the Twins will be in the hunt all season long.

White Sox: This is a solid team built to make a playoff run this year. When your No. 5 starter is Edwin Jackson, you have a pretty solid starting rotation, and they boast the best in the Central. If Carlos Quentin can stay healthy, the addition of Adam Dunn makes this a power-loaded lineup, with a good combination of veterans and young players. This team will be in the division hunt all season long, and has the staying power to edge out the Twins with their bats and pitching depth.

Tigers: The team has Magglio Ordonez, Victor Martinez, and Justin Verlander, but with questions about Miguel Cabrera, and his legal and alcohol related issues, there could be issues for this team. After Verlander, there is a huge drop-off in the rotation which is not very deep. If Cabrera misses a lot of time, or is suspended, there will be a huge hole in the lineup. They just don’t have enough pitching or depth to keep up with the increasing talent of the Twins and White Sox.

Indians: This is a young team that had a rough season last year. They added a couple of veterans to make them a little more competitive, but they are still a few years of rebuilding away from being a factor in the Central. They were thoroughly decimated as one star player after another left the team, and now they must pick up the pieces and start over, with young players that need a lot of developing.

Royals: Besides Wilson Betemit and Jason Kendall, the Royals are roster full of unknown players. Zack Greinke, their biggest star of the last few years is now a Brewer, and the Royals are in full rebuilding mode. They will continue to play young players, hoping to develop and cultivate some stars from their high draft picks.

AL West

Rangers: They shocked many in the baseball world by making it all the way to the World Series, knocking off a pair of AL East teams en route to the Series. They were no fluke last year, but the loss of their ace, Cliff Lee is really going to hurt them. They still have a nice rotation and added Brandon Webb, who before getting hurt was a legitimate ace. There have been issues with Michael Young, and the Rangers could look to deal him to try to round out their rotation and make it more complete. With their firepower, and the bat of Josh Hamilton, the Rangers will stay the favorite in the West.

Athletics: The A’s have some nice pieces, including pitcher Dallas Braden, but overall they just aren’t a complete enough team. They have a nice lineup, but it doesn’t boast the type of power of the Rangers, and with a mostly unproven pitching staff, it will be tough for the A’s to get over the playoff hump. They are still a few pieces away from making the playoffs.

Angels: Although they missed the playoffs last season, the Angels have a very complete team that will fight the Rangers for the division. Vernon Wells, Torii Hunter, and Bobby Abreu give the lineup some nice power, balancing it with speed guys like Howie Kendrick. Their rotation is also very complete with Jered Weaver at the top. If Scott Kazmir, the No.5 starter can get back to form, this rotation could be the best in the West.

Mariners: The Mariners have a couple of nice pieces with Ichiro Suzuki, Chone Figgins, Brendan Ryan, and ace Felix Hernandez. The Mariners will have a much better season than last year and are on the right track to getting back into the playoffs after a ten-year drought. They still lack a complete rotation, and a feared lineup, but if they can get some players to step up, they have a shot at competing for the division. Some additions to the rotation though would go a long way to securing this.

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