"He had physical issues," said Dodgers Manager Joe Torre. "It's frustrating, sure. But, to me, I think that kept him from being the player that we got originally. And you have to make decisions at some point in time, and certainly tihs was a decision that was thought out on our part, and we just felt that with the guys at the top of the order, I just felt we could do more things."
"Hopefully, he can come in here and give us some help," White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko said. "We need to make up some ground. There's no doubt Manny can hit. He makes any team better."
His first appearance for Chicago will come Tuesday against the Cleveland Indians, the team that drafted him and enjoyed his production for eight seasons.
The 38-year-old Ramirez returns to the AL after spending parts of three seasons in Los Angeles, a stay that ended on a somewhat sour note.
It's certainly been a rough year for the slugger and the Dodgers. The dreadlocked outfielder is batting .311 with eight homers and 40 RBIs in 66 games in 2010.
He made one at-bat at Sunday's ball game, and it didn't last long. He just saw one pitch, and he thought it was outside, but the umpire disagreed, calling it a strike.
After a short discussion, Ramirez was thrown out of the game. The incident came at a critical time when the bases were loaded. The next batter grounded into a double play, and the Dodgers lost again 10-5.
Ramirez was a fan favorite for about two years when he joined the team. He really helped the Dodgers get to the playoffs, but then he was suspended for allegedly taking performance-enhancing drugs.
This year, he was on the disabled list from July 20 to Aug. 20 with a right calf strain. He missed 33 games.
At /*The Original Pantry Café*/ in downtown L.A., there weren't many who were sad to hear that Ramirez may be leaving.
"Bye bye Manny," said one man. "I like the Dodgers but he should get out of here."
Another Pantry customer said Manny was getting too old.
"He hasn't been doing so much this season so it's OK," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.