Red Sox Shopping Hanley Ramirez

[BrewCrewFan]

There’s “talk in the front office” that new Red Sox baseball chief Dave Dombrowski is trying to move Hanley Ramirez, according to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe. Cafardo adds that the Mariners, Orioles, and Angels “seem to be the targets” of DD’s campaign to relocate the pricey veteran after he turned in a massively disappointing season in 2015. It’s not immediately clear if those three clubs have interest, however.

Of course, trading Ramirez is probably easier said than done. Just last week, five general managers told Cafardo that they wouldn’t take on Ramirez even if the Red Sox picked up the tab on half of his remaining salary. Ramirez is owed $66MM through 2018 and he has a $22MM vesting option for 2019, so even at a reduced rate, that’s still a hefty price for a player coming off such a rough season on and off the field.

For their part, the Sox say that they’re still committed to Ramirez playing first base for them in 2016. They’re also hopeful that the soon-to-be 32-year-old can bounce back by dropping some weight. Ramirez was officially listed at 225 pounds this season but he was apparently tipping the scales at 240 pounds. All in all, Ramirez’s first year in Boston was dreadful. Despite hitting 19 home runs, he produced just a .291 OBP, and he struggled horribly with the transition from the infield to left field. At the time of his signing, Ramirez was coming off of a year in which he posted a .283/.369/.448 slash line with 13 homers for the Dodgers with a .300/.373/.500 slash line for his career.

On a related note, Cafardo hears that the Red Sox have discussed free agent slugger Chris Davis internally. However, that would only be doable if the Red Sox were able to move Ramirez. Also, the Red Sox would have to weigh their desire to add Davis’ bat against their need for a frontline starter.

-MLBTR

Hanley last 3 years:

2013: 86 G, .345 AVG, .402 OBP, .638 SLG, 20 HR, 57 RBI, 5.1 WAR
2014: 128 G, .283 AVG, .369 OBP, .448 SLG, 13 HR, 71 RBI, 3.3 WAR
2015: 105 G, .249 AVG, .291 OBP, .426 SLG, 19 HR, 53 RBI, -1.8 WAR

He'll be 32 years old, and has a contract of 22 M per year over the next 3 years.

Obviously Red Sox are going to have to eat a lot of his contract if they want to get anything even worthwhile for him.

 

[RyanM2984]

About time, he shouldn't be on the Red Sox this season, I hope Travis Shaw gets another chance.