Manny Ramirez Exercises His Option to Stay in Los Angeles

In what wasn't much of a surprise, Los Angeles Dodgers left-fielder Manny Ramirez has decided to exercise his player option for 2010 and will return to the Dodgers next season. His agent Scott Boras let Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti know about Ramirez's decision on Friday night.

All of which means that Ramirez will make $20 million with the Dodgers rather than becoming a free agent, which is a smart move considering it's highly unlikely Manny would get that much money anywhere else next year. Manny didn't have the greatest season for the Dodgers in 2009, but Colletti is confident he'll bounce back next season.

"There was no doubt he had his struggles this past season," he said. "We still feel that he's a very good hitter and maybe with a winter off and a chance to regroup, he can come back with a better frame of mind and his confidence rebuilt."

Those struggles were no doubt aided by the 50-game suspension Ramirez had to serve midway through the season after violating MLB's drug policy. Before the suspension Ramirez was hitting .348 with six home runs and 20 RBI. After the suspension his average dropped to .269 with 13 homers and 43 RBI.

Since Ramirez will be returning, you can expect Colletti will be trying his hardest to move Juan Pierre at the general managers meetings in Chicago on Monday. Pierre has two years and $18.5 million remaining on his contract, and that's a lot of money to pay your fourth outfielder, especially when there are other holes on the roster that need to be filled.