Manny Ramirez homered in his first at-bat Wednesday for Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican Winter League.

The opposite-field dinger over the right field wall drew wild roars from the crowd and chants of "Manny! - Manny!" rang out as he crossed home plate. Ramirez is on a team with Miguel Tejada, Bartolo Colon, Chris Coghlan, and Cardinals prospect Oscar Taveras. It's not clear if the veteran slugger is considering a return to the major leagues.

According to Peter Gammons of MLB Network, Manny Ramirez is expected to play winter ball with Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican Winter League.

Ramirez told USA Today earlier this month that he had decided against playing winter ball, but his opinion is known to change on the spin of a dime. The 40-year-old nearly played with Las Aguilas last offseason, but his PED suspension complicated matters. It's unlikely he gets another shot in the majors even if he has a strong winter.

Manny Ramirez has a five-game hitting streak with Triple-A Sacramento.

This includes three doubles and seven RBI over his last four games. Ramirez was recently slowed due to hamstring soreness, but he's finally starting to produce a little with the bat. It's not clear if a call-up is imminent, though.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, ''scouts and baseball executives'' who have seen Manny Ramirez recently agree with Oakland's assessment that he is not ready for the majors.

Ramirez is also dealing with left hamstring tightness, so we may not see him with the Athletics until mid-June. Ramirez finished serving his 50-game suspension on May 30. He'll be paid a $500,000 prorated salary when added to the major league roster.

Manny Ramirez came out of Saturday's game with Triple-A Sacramento in the fourth inning, apparently due to leg tightness.

Ramirez took off Friday's game for the same reason. The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser doesn't believe we'll see Ramirez in the A's lineup until mid-June.

Manny Ramirez was a late scratch from Friday's lineup with Triple-A Sacramento.

No word yet on the reason for his absence, but we're guessing he's still bothered by the hamstring tightness which caused him to miss Thursday's game. The 40-year-old is hitting just .222 (8-for-36) with no extra-base hits over his first five games with the River Cats.

Manny Ramirez was scratched from Thursday's lineup with Triple-A Sacramento due to hamstring tightness.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle passed along word from broadcaster Johnny Doskow. Ramirez, who turned 40 on Wednesday, is hitting just .222 (8-for-36) with no extra-base hits and will remain at the Triple-A level until he begins to get better results at the plate.

The Athletics announced Monday that Manny Ramirez will remain with Triple-A Sacramento "for the time being and will be monitored on a day by day basis."

Ramirez will be done serving his 50-game PED suspension on Tuesday, so he's eligible to join the Athletics as soon as Wednesday, but this announcement means that he'll be given some extra time to get ready. Ramirez went 2-for-4 with an RBI on Monday and is batting .250 (8-for-32) with zero extra-base hits and a 7/3 K/BB ratio over nine games with the River Cats.

A's manager Bob Melvin said Monday that Manny Ramirez is "50-50" to join the team on Wednesday.

Ramirez is done serving his 50-game suspension Wednesday (May 30), but he's hit just .214 with a .290 on-base percentage in 31 plate appearances for Triple-A Sacramento and the A's don't want him to feel over-matched out of the gate. If he doesn't catch fire over the next two days on the farm, the A's will likely wait on him until the weekend.

Athletics manager Bob Melvin has indicated that it's unlikely Manny Ramirez will be activated Wednesday.

The manager hinted as much last week, but it appears the A's have decided that the veteran DH needs some more at-bats. Manny is hitting just .240/.296/.240 with no extra-base hits over 27 plate appearances for Triple-A Sacramento. He figures to be ready by early June at the latest.

Athletics manager Bob Melvin said Wednesday that the team is not "locked into" activating Manny Ramirez on May 30.

Ramirez is eligible to join the A's on May 30, but the team wants him to get around 40 at-bats in the minors and show that he can produce offensively. He's 3-for-8 with two walks over his first three games with Triple-A Sacramento.

Manny Ramirez (wrist) plans to return to Triple-A Sacramento's lineup Monday.

Manny was scratched from Sunday's lineup with a sore left wrist, but evidently it's a minor ailment. Assuming the injury doesn't get worse, he should still be activated on May 30.

Manny Ramirez has been scratched from Triple-A Sacramento's lineup Sunday with a sore left wrist.

It's not clear at this point how long it will sideline him. Manny is supposed to be activated from the restricted list on May 30, but it's possible the injury might delay that timetable. We'll update his condition when more is known.

Manny Ramirez began his rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday.

Batting third and serving as the DH, Man-Ram was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts through five innings against Albuquerque. Manny sounded like a new man -- a more humble incarnation -- when speaking with the media prior to Saturday's game, but he hasn't lost his trademark confidence. He'll turn 40 on May 30, the same day Oakland has confirmed he'll join the club for a game against the Twins, and still believes he'll hit like he has in the past. "They know what I can do," Ramirez said. "I know what I've got to do. I'm going to do better than when I got to L.A. in '08." We doubt that, but Ramirez is worth owning in all AL-only formats and deep mixed leagues immediately.

Manny Ramirez is expected to report to Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday.

Ramirez is currently getting in playing shape in extended spring training as he continues to serve his 50-game PED suspension. He'll be eligible to join the A's on May 30 and fully intends to do so. "I will be ready," said Ramirez. "I'm going to go crazy to please the fans." The 39-year-old is expected to serve as a part-time DH for Oakland and is worth stashing away in AL-only leagues.

Manny Ramirez will embark on a 10-game minor league rehab assignment before joining the A's.

If all goes well, Manny should be ready to report to Oakland shortly after his 50-game PED suspension is up on May 30. The veteran slugger signed a minor league contract with the A's in late February and is expected to serve as their part-time DH this summer.

Manny Ramirez is being slowed by a hamstring strain.

Manny suffered the injury while working out on his own after the A's flew to Japan for their season-opening series against the Mariners. The 39-year-old is suspended for the first 50 games of 2012, so the strain really isn't a concern at this time.

Manny Ramirez drew a walk and blasted a solo homer in Tuesday's win over the Brewers.

The tater was Manny's first hit in an A's uniform, as he's now 1-for-10 in Cactus League action. The veteran is receiving most of his playing time in minor league games, as the A's want to give the at-bats to those that aren't suspended for the first 50 games of the season.

Manny Ramirez will take most of his at-bats this spring in minor league games.

Ramirez has played in just three Cactus League games with the A's, going hitless in eight at-bats. He's suspended for the first 50 games of the 2012 season, so there's no reason to have him taking playing time from players who actually need it. "He wants to go over there," manager Bob Melvin told MLB.com. "He tells me, 'Hey look, don't worry about me. I know you're under the gun to get other guys at-bats.' He's been great about that."

Manny Ramirez (back) is scheduled to DH in a Cactus League game on Tuesday.

Manny is being given periods of rest as he recovers from some mild back stiffness. The suspended slugger is 0-for-8 with a strikeout and no walks thus far in Cactus League play. He went 0-for-3 in Saturday's game.