 Ramírez remained with the club for nearly three weeks. However, Yankees'manager Joe Torre used Ramírez sparingly, despite the belief in the Yankees' front office that Ramírez could be an effective strikeout reliever. At the time of his debut, the Yankees bullpen ranked 25th in MLB in strikeouts. Torre had a reputation as preferring veteran relief pitchers, but the organization needed to wait until the trading deadline to obtain a veteran pitcher from another club. Ramírez was a member of the Yankees for a July series against the Angels at Angel Stadium, finally stepping foot onto the field as an active Yankees player. On July 6, against the Angels, he gave up one run on two hits in 1 1 ⁄ 3 innings; as the pitcher of record, he was awarded his first career win in the 14 – 9 Yankees victory. Molina, now serving as the Yankees'backup catcher, admitted that he didn't remember Ramírez from their shared years in the Angels' organization.
