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Would the Red Sox Trade Manny Ramirez?

Every year for seemingly the last five years, the Red Sox have hinted at their willingness to trade Manny Ramirez. Given Manny's huge contract, goofy antics, and ability to crush the ball, the rumors never seem that serious. With Manny's monster contract running out after this year and Manny missing games for a mysterious knee ailment, suddenly things seem awfully serious.

Today in the Boston Globe, Dan Shaughnessy published a story that seemed to indicate that the Red Sox were finally growing tired for Manny's shenanigans. That in itself isn't really noteworthy, but it is in conjunction with some statements made by Theo Epstein through Tim McCarver during this afternoon's FOX broadcast. Prior to the game, Epstein told McCarver that he'd be willing to trade Manny if Ramirez was willing to waive his no-trade clause, then pointedly told McCarver that he could repeat that rumor on the air. It sounds to me like Epstein wants people to know that he's serious about trading Manny this time around.

With Manny's deal up and the Sox interested in getting him out of town, there would certainly be some interested parties (the Mets, Phillies, Dodgers, Cardinals and maybe the Astros if Ed Wade is feeling particularly crazy all quickly come to mind). The key for the Red Sox would be finding a quick replacement. The Pirates will certainly be listening to offers for Jason Bay and the Sox have enough prospects to work something out there. The Braves are shopping Mark Teixeira, who could bump Kevin Youkilis to left field. It would be a lot of work for Esptein to pull off in five days, but it seems like he just might be serious about getting rid of Manny this time around.

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