Boston ? Boston Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez got the night off to clear his head while the team attempts to trade him and shed his salary.

He also would miss today’s game, manager Terry Francona said, meaning the World Series MVP wouldn’t take the field again until after the trading deadline passes.

“I think it’s not just in our best interest, but in our ballclub’s best interest, that he sit, clear his head, take a few deep breaths,” Francona said after the Red Sox beat Minnesota 6-2 without Ramirez on Saturday night. “I think he was very receptive to it.”

Ramirez was in the dugout during the ninth inning, and he came out for the postgame handshake, laughing and high-fiving and hugging his teammates. The crowd, which reacted to his annual trade request by booing him on Friday night, began a brief chant of “Manny!”

“That was neat,” first baseman Kevin Millar said. “He’s a big part of this team. They know that. The fans love Manny, and he loves them, too.”

Boston's Edgar Renteria, center, hugs Manny Ramirez, right, as Kevin Millar celebrates the Red Sox's 6-2 victory over the Twins. Amid rumors of a trade, Ramirez was not in the lineup for Saturday's victory in Boston, but he did celebrate with teammates.

Ramirez was not available in the clubhouse before or after the game.

The enigmatic slugger helped Boston win its first World Series in 86 years last season and he leads the majors with 92 RBIs this year, but the team repeatedly has tried to unload the eight-year, $160 million contract he signed after the 2000 season. They tried to trade him for Alex Rodriguez last year.

Most recently, Ramirez has been at the center of talks regarding a three-team deal with the New York Mets and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. An official involved in the talks said the teams were still far apart.

Mets outfielder Mike Cameron said before New York’s game against Houston that he was upset by talk that he could be included in a trade for Ramirez; he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and declined comment after the Astros won 2-0. The Mets would also include outfielder Lastings Milledge, the 12th overall pick in the 2003 amateur draft.

Devil Rays general manager Chuck LaMar said he expected talks could continue until this afternoon’s 3 p.m. deadline for trades without waivers.

The Seattle Mariners traded outfielder Randy Winn to the San Francisco Giants for catcher Yorvit Torrealba and pitcher Jesse Foppert. The New York Yankees, seeking a center fielder, and the Minnesota Twins, who must replace the injured Torii Hunter, also had talked to the Mariners about Winn.

In other trade talk:

l The Chicago White Sox were talking to the Devil Rays about closer Danys Baez and outfielder Aubrey Huff, who were involved in discussions in the three-team trade.

l The New York Yankees were talking with San Francisco about reliever Scott Eyre. New York also signed left-hander Alan Embree, released by Boston a day earlier.

l Minnesota also was said by an official with another team to have inquired about Texas second baseman Alfonso Soriano.

l Astros general manager Tim Purpura said his team had a trade in place for a veteran pitcher, but the pitcher, whom he didn’t identify, rejected it using his rights as a 10-year veteran who had been with his team for five years. It is possible the pitcher involved was Seattle’s Jamie Moyer.