Three-time All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez won’t be staying in L.A. for the long haul, as he’s opted to flee in free agency to the Boston Red Sox.
The team confirmed the deal on Tuesday:
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports outlined the details of the contract:
ESPN Boston’s Gordon Edes provides a year-by-year breakdown:
GM Ben Cherington commented on the signing via the Red Sox and Alex Speier of WEEI.com:
Ramirez talked about his return to Boston via Speier:
David Ortiz welcomed Ramirez back to Boston via his Instagram account:
Ramirez commented on his relationship with Ortiz via MLB.com:
According to Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Boston Red Sox and Ramirez had mutual interest and he shared the details of the reported deal. One day later, Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com reported the two sides had finalized the agreement.
Bill Baer of HardballTalk.com initially reported as early as November 2013 that Ramirez and the Dodgers were conducting negotiations, citing ESPNDeportes.com’s Dionisio Soldevila.
However, all the Dodgers could muster was a one-year, $15.3 million qualifying offer before Ramirez hit the free-agent market this offseason. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times highlighted the implications of the gesture:
So at least L.A. receives something in return for Ramirez leaving town, yet it does sting that the club didn’t get more out of the dynamic player when he was around.
In Ramirez’s first full season in L.A. in 2013, he managed to play in only 86 games due to a myriad of health ailments, though he did bat .345 with 20 home runs and 57 RBI. Then this last season, Ramirez was out of the lineup for 34 games with nagging injuries.
Ramirez’s talent has never been in question, but he has endured a bit of a roller-coaster career.
After going through the Red Sox’s farm system as a top-notch minor league prospect, he was traded to the Miami Marlins franchise in the deal for pitching ace Josh Beckett, where he played the majority of his career to date.
Following several stellar years with the Marlins, the most difficult stretch for Ramirez came in 2011, when he appeared in just 92 games and hit only .243 while getting caught stealing 10 times in 30 attempts—the worst rate of his career. An ailing shoulder was to blame, and it required surgery after the year was over.
Miami acquired Jose Reyes that offseason, which forced Ramirez to switch over to third base. It was a change Ramirez didn’t fully embrace. Combine that with no playoff appearances in Miami in his prior five seasons, and the time was ripe for the Marlins to trade him.
Los Angeles acquired Ramirez in a July 2012 trade, but it wasn’t enough to push the club to the playoffs. With Ramirez healthy and playing rather well in the past two postseasons, it’s drawn optimism that he can thrive as he enters the back half of his career.
Given the injury history, this leap of faith by Boston conveys the organization’s faith that Ramirez’s health will be intact enough to ultimately help them deliver a World Series title.
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