Olney on D&H: Expect Damon in Boston

ESPN.com senior writer Buster Olney appeared on the Dale & Holley Show on Tuesday to discuss what player movement might occur between now and the Aug. 31 deadline for waiver deals. In particular, he addressed the immediate futures of two former Red Sox outfielders: Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez.

Olney said that he expects that, despite Damon's initial misgivings about returning to the Red Sox (who were awarded a waiver claim of the outfielder on Monday), he will be convinced to return to the team for whom he became an icon from 2002-05 and then a villain while a member of the Yankees from 2006-09.

"Knowing what kind of a teammate he is, knowing that he's a good guy, a genial guy, once he starts getting the text messages and phone calls from the people he played with in Boston, I think he'll be sold on the idea eventually of going back to Boston," said Olney. "It's fairly clear he has some hurt feelings about how it ended when he signed with the Yankees. I think the one thing those guys are probably going to tell him is, look, if you come back, the first time he gets in the batter's box, let's say on Friday night in Tampa Bay and all those Red Sox fans are at the Trop, they're going to give him an ovation. They're not going to boo him.

"And we know this, too: No matter when he comes back, a reunion in 2014, fans in Boston are always going to love him for how important he was to that team in 2004. So, I think he's going to be talked into it. I might be completely wrong, but that's my gut feeling."

While Olney said that part of the incentive for the Sox in claiming Damon was to keep him away from the Rays and Yankees, he also would have value to the Sox. Olney described the Sox' motivation in claiming the outfielder as a 60-40 split between the idea that he could help and the opportunity to block their rivals from acquiring him.

As for Ramirez, Olney anticipates that the mercurial slugger will be put on waivers, and that the White Sox might claim him. That said, if he is not claimed by Chicago (a team on the fringes of the pennant race), he thinks there is a good chance that Ramirez will return to the AL East as a member of the Rays.

"If he gets through waivers -- and I don't think the Yankees are going to claim him, just guessing, I don't think the Red Sox will put in a claim -- if he gets through waivers, I think he’ll finish August in a uniform with the Tampa Bay Rays, because I think they would be aggressive so long as they didn't have to take on that whole salary," said Olney. "The Dodgers are clearly frustrated with him. You talk to people in that organization, they’re fed up in the same way and for the same reasons as you heard from the Red Sox organization in 2008. They're ready to move him out. But there's no question that when he plays, he hits. ... He’s still a threat. You know that if he were to walk up to the plate in the postseason, opposing managers, opposing pitchers would absolutely fear him. I don't think there's any question that he would make the Tampa Bay Rays better."

Olney also discussed what the Sox might do with Jacoby Ellsbury, and the struggles of John Lackey and Josh Beckett. To listen to the complete interview, click here. For a transcript, check back at the Full Count blog.