Hanley Ramirez's bat has been nearly as flawed as his glove
New Coke. The XFL. Disco Demolition Night. Failed experiments, all of these. And to that notorious list we can now add Hanley Ramirez, left fielder. The Red Sox inked Ramirez to a four-year, $88 million free agent contract over the winter, with the expectation that the 31-year-old would Blitzkrieg the Green Monster. Hanley, after all, had posted the fifth-best OPS+ (155) among all MLB hitters with a least 800 plate appearances over the 2013-14 seasons. His glove work was spotty, but the Sox would shift the former shortstop/third baseman down the defensive spectrum to left field. I mean, if Manny Ramirez faked it out there, how hard could it be?
Hard enough, it turns out, that the Green Monster ate Hanley alive. Ramirez cost the Sox nearly 20 runs compared to an average left fielder in 2015, prompting the club to recently announce that he has played his last game at the position. The Manny-like D might be tolerable if he were also hitting like Manny, but Hanley's suddenly performing like a Punch and Judy shortstop.
When Ramirez (currently on the DL with right shoulder inflammation) returns, he'll man first base. The shift should limit the harm inflicted by his glove, but it also raises the bar for his flat-lining bat. Short of an offensive resurgence for Ramirez, the Sox might be stuck with a monster of a bad contract.
