Feb 27 (The Sports Xchange) - Former major-league slugger Manny Ramirez has a verbal agreement to sign with the EDA Rhinos of the China Professional League, according to ESPNDeportes.com.
An agreement won't be final until March 7, the report said, and Ramirez has until then to sign with an MLB team.
"It will be a new experience, experience another culture while I keep doing what I love and all I've done in my life, playing baseball," Ramirez told the website.
The 40-year-old Ramirez, 2004 World Series MVP, said his agents had contacted almost every American League team in need of a bat, but received no interest.
Ramirez hasn't played in the major leagues since 2011 with the Tampa Bay Rays, when he retired rather than face a 100-game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance.
He signed with the Oakland A's last winter, but was released from their Triple-A Sacramento affiliate in June. He has 555 home runs and a .312 batting average in a 19-year career. (Editing by Ossian Shine)
