PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Wilson Ramos arrived to camp on Wednesday and the team's new catcher immediately went in for a workout before addressing reporters to offer a status report on his surgically repaired right knee.
Ramos signed a two-year, $12.5 million deal with the Rays in December, a deal the club was able to make in part because Ramos was coming off knee surgery after tearing his right ACL on Sept. 26.
"I don't have an exact date for when I'm coming back yet," said Ramos through a team translator. "My knee is feeling pretty good. My knee is getting stronger day by day. I think the therapy is doing a really good job, and very important for that. Just to get back there as quickly as I can will be most important to me."
Speculation has suggested that Ramos would be back by May to serve as the designated hitter. When asked about that possibility, Ramos noted, "That's kind of the goal for right now."
"I've been working really hard toward that," Ramos said. "But I don't have any particular pressure that I have to be back right then. I really want to follow the therapy and the guide to getting back to healthy to the letter. So that way I'm 100 percent when I come back. I don't want to push myself too far ahead and then fall back behind again. ... I want to come back healthy, and that's the goal."
Manager Kevin Cash was asked about a timetable for Ramos and answered: "I'll be honest with you, no disrespect to Wilson, I really won't even be asking about him. I'm sure [head athletic trainer Ron Porterfield], diligent as he is, is going to inform me. I'm thinking about him, but I know he's not going to be doing anything with us this spring."