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Hanley Ramirez To Return To Dominican Winter League

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37-year-old Hanley Ramirez has reported to los Tigres de Licey in the Dominican Winter League, as announced by the team on Twitter. This will be his first competitive action since playing for the same club in the winter of 2019-20.

Ramirez, who turns 38 in December, has played for los Tigres sporadically over his career, suiting up for them in the winters of 2006-07, 2012-13, 2016-17, 2018-19 and 2019-20. The fact that he is back for another season doesn’t necessarily mean he is attempting to return to MLB, although Jon Heyman of MLB Network did use the word “comeback” on Twitter. However, the timing is interesting, given that it is widely expected that this winter’s collective bargaining will result in all 30 teams being able to implement a designated hitter next season. Since he has been primarily a designated hitter or first baseman since 2016, that would increase the odds of Ramirez finding some playing time, if he’s healthy enough to contribute with his bat.

That’s a big if, though, given that shoulder injuries derailed his last attempt at playing in the big leagues. Ramirez was released by the Red Sox June 1st, 2018, the last guaranteed season of the four-year, $88MM contract that he signed prior to the 2015 campaign. He didn’t latch on with another club for the rest of that year and later revealed that he turned down offers in order to try to get back to full health. He then signed a minor league deal with Cleveland in February of 2019 and was later selected to their opening day roster. Through 16 games, he was hitting .184/.298/.327, when he was designated for assignment by the club. In July of that year, he underwent shoulder surgery with the hopes of coming back for the 2020 season. It was a few months later, in November of 2019, that Hanley joined los Tigres, getting into 13 games and hitting .273/.298/.418.

Ramirez had an incredible run in the big leagues from 2006 to 2014, playing 1,221 games and hitting .300/.373/.500 in that time, producing a wRC+ of 133 and 40.6 fWAR. After that, his production fell off dramatically, although he was an above-average hitter as recently as 2016, hitting .286/.361/.505 with the Red Sox that year. If he’s managed to put his shoulder issues behind him and show any glimpses of his past performance, some team could be intrigued enough to give him a minor league deal and invite him to spring training to see if he can hit enough to fill a bench bat/designated hitter role.

This Day In Transaction History: Thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving isn’t usually a barnburner of a day as far as baseball transactions are concerned, but that’s pattern more than rule. Most years something official happens along the lines of Matt Skole signing with the White Sox in 2019 or Jason Lane signing with the Padres in 2014 – but  three years in particular gave us a heaping portion of baseball news befitting turkey day: 2005, 2007, 2009. While we wait to see what happens this year, let’s go back and look at some of the most impactful moves made on Thanksgiving day.

  • Last year was a quiet Thanksgiving day, but there was plenty to talk about. If you recall, we were just one day removed from the four-player Brewers/Padres swap that saw Trent Grisham and Zach Davies land in San Diego. MLBTR readers weighed in on Thanksgiving with more people preferring the Brewers’ side of the deal. The Brew Crew landed promising infielder Luis Urías and potential rotation arm Eric Lauer. A year removed, my guess is the public sentiment may have changed. This one might need more time to gestate, however, before a final determination can be made.
  • On this same date and day in history, the Cleveland Indians signed an amateur free agent that changed the fortunes of their franchise. Jose Ramirez – a 17-year-old amateur free agent out of Dominican Republic – signed on Thursday, November 26, 2009. He would debut in the Majors just four years later as a 20-year-old.
  • On the same day, the Toronto Blue Jays struck in free agency signing shortstop Álex González to a free agent contract. Of course, this isn’t the Alex Gonzalez most Blue Jays fans will remember best. This A-Gon spent just a few months north of the border. He was traded to the Braves on July 14th of the following season as part of a four-player deal that sent Yunel Escobar and Jo-Jo Reyes to Toronto. Escobar would net 8.6 bWAR across 2 1/2 seasons with the Jays, while Reyes would be claimed off waivers by the Orioles later that season.
  • In 2007, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim invested heavily in a free agent centerfielder who had spent the entirety of his career to that point in the Twin Cities. Torii Hunter signed for $89.5MM over five years to roam the grass in Anaheim. He’d win two Gold Gloves and make two All-Star teams while racking up 20.7 bWAR as an Angel. They got their money’s worth as Hunter would post the best two seasons of his career by bWAR while with the Angels (2009, 2012).
  • The Cincinnati Reds signed Miguel Rojas as an amateur free agent on November 24, 2005. Rojas would stay in the Reds’ minor league system for a full six seasons before being granted free agency and joining the Dodgers in 2012.
  • That same season, the Marlins did some work with two significant trades on Thanksgiving. The first sent Carlos Delgado and cash to the Mets for Grant Psomas, Mike Jacobs and Yusmeiro Petit. Delgado spent just one season in Florida, but he did grab a 6th-place MVP finish that year for slashing .301/.399/.582 with 33 bombs.
  • Their other deal helped bring the second title of the century to the Red Sox. The Fish traded Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota to Boston for Jesus Delgado, Harvey Garcia, Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez. Sanchez would have a number of solid years with the Fish, while Hanley Ramirez developed into a cornerstone shortstop and the face of the franchise.

6 Potential DH Contributors For NL Clubs

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The National League appears likely to implement the designated hitter in 2020 — much to the chagrin of many fans — suddenly giving 15 clubs the potential to bulk up their lineup with another non-pitcher bat. Several teams already have logical in-house options to fill that spot. However, there are a handful of yet-unsigned position players who’ll welcome the seemingly forthcoming influx of DH spots as they look to get another chance at the big league level. Let’s run through some still-available names…

  • Yasiel Puig (29 years old): Puig was still a perfectly fine defensive right fielder last season, grading out as average via Defensive Runs Saved, Ultimate Zone Rating and Outs Above Average. A team may not look at him as a full-time DH because of that, but a club with an already-set outfield could now switch a more defensively challenged option to DH and slot Puig into right field. Or, Puig could simply rotate through DH and the outfield corners on a new NL club. The Giants have been oft-connected to Puig and have a piecemeal mix of options in the outfield. At the very least, an added DH spot wouldn’t hurt his chances of landing in San Francisco (or anywhere else in the NL).
  • Jose Bautista (39): Joey Bats generated some chatter this winter when word got out that he was contemplating a return as a two-way player. The former home run champ set the record straight last month, indicating that while he did throw some bullpen sessions with friend/former teammate Marcus Stroman this winter and would welcome the opportunity, he’s more focused on a return as a hitter. Bautista’s glovework declined quite a bit in his late 30s, but he walked at a 14 percent clip and posted a .168 ISO in his final two seasons in 2017-18. He’s kept himself in shape — could he have one more run left in him?
  • Mark Trumbo (34): Knee problems torpedoed Trumbo’s 2019 season and much of his 2018 campaign as well, though he did return late last year to appear in a dozen games with the Orioles. While 2019 was a lost season, the slugger hit .261/.313/.452 in 358 plate appearances in 2018 (105 wRC+, 108 OPS+). Trumbo has never been much of an OBP threat, but he has massive power from the right side — evidenced by an MLB-best 47 homers in 2016. He was open about his uncertain baseball future back in November, but 15 new DH slots could give him an unexpected opportunity.
  • Melky Cabrera (35): The Melk Man is still hoping to play another couple seasons, but deteriorating glovework has become increasingly difficult to overlook. That said, the switch-hitter hasn’t batted lower than .273 in the past decade, and his contact skills generally make him a source of a respectable OBP even though he doesn’t walk that much. Cabrera’s .280/.313/.399 slash with the Pirates last year was below-average on the whole (88 OPS+, 85 wRC+), but he was an average or better hitter in the three preceding seasons. Melky carried an .807 OPS into the All-Star break last year, but he hit just .231/.257/.306 down the stretch as his role shrunk. To his credit, he struck out at just a 10.3 percent clip last year.
  • Hanley Ramirez (36): HanRam’s comeback attempt with the Indians last year was a bust. He homered in his second game of the season but went deep just once more, posting an ugly .184/.298/.327 slash in 57 plate appearances before being cut loose. Ramirez underwent shoulder surgery last summer, revealing that he’d been plagued by shoulder pain for several years and making clear that he hoped to play in 2020. He played in the Dominican Winter League this offseason, hitting .273/.298/.418 in 57 plate appearances. Ramirez has a lot to prove, but maybe an NL club would take a flier in a rebooted Spring/Summer Training and hope to catch lightning in a bottle.
  • Lucas Duda (34): Nothing went right for Duda last year, although the Royals still gave him 119 plate appearances. In that time, he posted a disastrous .171/.252/.324 slash, and he wasn’t much better in Triple-A, hitting .202/.281/.303 in 114 PAs between the affiliates for Kansas City and Atlanta. Duda showed solid power while bouncing around the league in the two seasons prior, hitting .228/.318/.482 with 44 home runs in 253 games spread across five teams — including a 30-homer effort in 2017. Last year didn’t inspire any confidence, but he’s only 34 and could perhaps operate as a platoon option or lefty bench bat.

There are still some other unsigned players. Scooter Gennett never latched on with a team this winter. Tim Beckham remains unsigned, though he still has to serve the final 32 games of an 80-game PED ban. Russell Martin is a free agent. It’s doubtful that any of those players would markedly impact a team’s DH picture or see his market improved by the new presence of a DH (although any could draw increased interest as a bench option by virtue of expanded rosters). It’s also possible that some veterans on minor league deals could opt out or be cut loose once training camp resumes, thus entering the mix for potential DH work in the NL. Carlos Gonzalez, for instance, was reportedly unlikely to make the Mariners’ roster.

Most clubs will probably prefer to handle the DH spot internally rather than hand out more money at a time when revenue is already being slashed by the pandemic stoppage. But for the non-Puig veterans here who are simply looking for one more chance to revive their careers, a sizable commitment wouldn’t be expected anyhow. Whether it’s one final run for Joey Bats (with a bullpen appearance or two?), a Hanley Homecoming in Miami, a Trumbo resurgence or any number of other scenarios, there could be some fun storylines to follow.

Hanley Ramirez To Play In Dominican Winter League

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Free-agent first baseman/designated hitter Hanley Ramirez reported to los Tigres de Licey in the Dominican Winter League and will soon be playing in games for the team, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes. Ramirez is on the comeback trail after undergoing shoulder surgery in July to correct a shoulder issue that was said at the time to have been bothering him for “years.”

The 36-year-old said during a radio appearance with 102.5 FM in Santo Domingo that he hasn’t considered retirement and is still hopeful of returning to the big leagues. The DWL will provide a showcase for Major League scouts in that regard, and it’s certainly conceivable that with a decent showing, he’ll parlay that into a minor league deal and an invitation to Spring Training with a team.

Ramirez was released by the Red Sox early in the 2018 season — a surprise move at the time — and opted to sit out the remainder of the season despite receiving interest as a free agent. Upon signing a minor league deal with Cleveland in the 2018-19 offseason, Ramirez revealed that he had wanted to take some time off to allow his body to heal and to put himself in the best shape possible for his next opportunity. He broke camp as the Indians’ Opening Day designated hitter this past March, but the months of rest apparently didn’t do the trick for his shoulder; Ramirez hit just .184/.298/.327 with a pair of homers in 57 plate appearances before being released by the Cleveland organization.

It’s unlikely that any club is going to look at Ramirez as an everyday option in the field at this point, so his best bet is likely to sign with an American League club. Perhaps the forthcoming addition of a 26th MLB roster spot will make NL clubs more willing to carry a part-time first baseman/interleague DH/pinch-hitter, but Ramirez will need to first demonstrate that he can still hit before garnering any type of interest.

Hanley Ramirez Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Hopes To Play In 2020

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Three-time All-Star Hanley Ramirez underwent right shoulder surgery last week after “years of discomfort,” tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Ramirez has previously had surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder as well.

Ramirez, 36 in December, was the Indians’ Opening Day designated hitter in 2019, but his stay with the organization was brief. Signed to a minor league contract this past offseason, Ramirez was cut loose after hitting just .187/.298/.327 with a pair of homers and 17 strikeouts in 57 plate appearances with Cleveland. His 2018 season also ended with a release, as the Red Sox cut him loose in the final season of his four-year, $88MM deal after just 44 games (and a .254/.313/.395 batting line).

Over the winter, Ramirez revealed that he had offers to play with other teams following his release from the Red Sox, but he instead chose to “get [his] body healthy and come back next year.” That certainly lends credence to the notion that Ramirez’s shoulder troubles have been ongoing for quite some time, but it doesn’t appear that the prolonged period of rest did the trick as he’d hoped.

Another minor league pact will almost certainly be required for Ramirez as he embarks on another comeback bid. While he was one of the game’s most feared hitters during his prime, his peak years are well behind him. At this point, he’s been a below-average hitter in four of the past five seasons (2019 included), with the lone exception being a 2016 campaign that produced a .286/.361/.505 batting line and 30 home runs.

Hanley Ramirez Elects Free Agency

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1:20pm: The Indians have announced that Ramirez is officially a free agent.

1:00pm: Hanley Ramirez has elected free agency after declining an outright assignment from the Indians, as indicated on the Triple-A International League transactions log. He’ll presumably venture out into the open market in search of a new opportunity.

The 35-year-old Ramirez signed a minor league contract with Cleveland over the winter and broke camp as the club’s primary designated hitter, but he batted just .184/.298/.327 with two homers and 17 strikeouts in 57 plate appearances in his short stint there. That minor league deal came roughly nine months after being released by the Red Sox last June, though Ramirez told The Athletic’s Zack Meisel back in February that he turned away offers from clubs following last year’s release so that he could “get my body healthy and come back next year.”

It’s fair to question what Ramirez has left in the tank. He hasn’t been a decidedly above-average bat since the 2016 season, and while this year’s 57 plate appearances are too small a sample from which to glean anything meaningful, the former NL Rookie of the Year and batting champion has managed a paltry .241/.317/.414 batting line through 805 PAs dating back to the 2017 season. While that output is only about eight percent worse than league average by measure of park- and league-adjusted stats like OPS+ and wRC+, a player with Ramirez’s lack of defensive value has a much higher bar to clear when determining what’s an acceptable level of offensive performance.

Ramirez was a pure designated hitter with Cleveland this season, so it’s doubtful that he’ll generate much, if any, interest from National League clubs. There may very well be some American League organizations that take a speculative look at the former Marlins/Dodgers star, but it stands to reason that Ramirez would need to work his way back to the big leagues on a minor league deal.

Indians Activate Francisco Lindor, DFA Hanley Ramirez

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The Indians activated Francisco Lindor from the injured list today, while veteran Hanley Ramirez was designated for assignment to clear the roster spot, per MLB Roster Moves (Twitter links).

This should come as a welcome bit of news for Indians fans, who finally have their middle infield at full health for the first time this season. Cleveland performed arguably better than expected in their superstar’s absence, as the team sits one game up on the AL Central with an 11-7 record. While the team stayed afloat, offense from the shortstop position was abysmal without Lindor, as his understudies hit a combined .069/.139/.097 – that’s a full -1.0 fWAR in 18 games (-43 wRC+). Replacing that production with anything close to Lindor’s career .288/.350/.487 ought to provide a significant boost to a Cleveland offense that ranks 28th with a .266 wOBA.

For Ramirez, thus ends a second straight disappointing season for the 35-year-old Dominican. He appeared in 16 games this season, hitting only .184/.298/.327 with two home runs. The former highlight-reel shortstop has been relegated to designated hitter duties, from which he simply does not provide Cleveland with enough utility to warrant a roster spot. If this spells the end for Ramirez’s major-league career, he would finish as a career .289/.360/.486 hitter with 271 home runs and 1,834 hits across 7,127 plate appearances in 15 years.

AL Notes: Indians, Miller, Forsythe, Gio

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Veteran infielder Brad Miller was understandably frustrated by the news that the Indians had opted to designate him for assignment over the weekend, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The 29-year-old Miller hit .250/.325/.417 with a homer and three doubles in his short time with the organization but lost out on his roster spot with the impending return of fellow left-handed-hitting second baseman Jason Kipnis. “It’s a tough trend,” Miller said of his DFA. “They acknowledge that it wasn’t fair. … I really enjoyed playing for Tito (Terry Francona). That’s why I’m frustrated. I want to be here. I like this group. It’s a good team and I was hoping I’d be a part of it, but they have other plans.”

Per Hoynes, Miller’s $1MM salary with the Indians wasn’t fully guaranteed by virtue of the fact that he agreed to a 45-day advance consent clause. (Full details on those clauses are explored in this 2014 piece from Trade Rumors’ Zach Links, though in essence, they allow teams to cut players with five-plus years of service at any point within the season’s first 45 days for any reason other than injury.) Miller will still be paid for the time he spent with the Indians, but he’ll receive the pro-rated portion of that $1MM salary while losing out on the rest of it. Notably, Hoynes reports that designated hitter Hanley Ramirez also has such a clause in his contract.

Some more from the American League…

  • Infielder Logan Forsythe spoke with MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan about his decision to sign with the Rangers, specifically how the opportunity to play on a near-everyday basis by rotating through a number of positions spoke to him. “Most teams that looked at me had a pretty set infield,” said Forsythe. “There weren’t too many everyday jobs out there, or there were, but not too many guys were signing them. More teams were going for the utility or the platooning matchup type players.” As Sullivan details, Forsythe starts at second base against lefties and first base against righties, and he’s also available as a backup to Asdrubal Cabrera and Elvis Andrus, should either left-side infielder need a day off.
  • Veteran lefty Gio Gonzalez is awaiting an opportunity in the Major Leagues with the Yankees as an opt-out clause in his minor league contract looms, Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post writes. The Yankees, according to Gonzalez, were the only club to even make him an offer this winter and didn’t do so until midway through Spring Training after an injury to Luis Severino. The southpaw had a brutal first start in Triple-A but has bounced back with a pair of strong outings, yielding just two runs through 11 innings with an 18-to-3 K/BB ratio. Gonzalez didn’t shy away from voicing his displeasure with the manner in which the offseason unfolded but also said he doesn’t feel he needs to pitch as though he has a point to prove: “No. I have nothing left to prove to people. [I] throw 180 innings, do your thing, I’m durable, doing it for the last 10 years. If I still have to prove a point, that’s embarrassing in this sport.”

Indians Purchase Contract Of Hanley Ramirez, Designate Ben Taylor

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As had been anticipated, the Indians have purchased the contract of Hanley Ramirez. To open a 40-man spot, the club designated righty Ben Taylor for assignment.

Ramirez is back in the bigs for the first time since he was cut loose by the Red Sox last year. He’s expected to serve as the team’s primary designated hitter to open the season.

Taylor, 26, turned in 57 1/3 innings of 2.51 ERA ball with 11.0 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 last year at Triple-A. He also ran up eight strikeouts against one walk (but allowed two home runs) in his six MLB frames. Clearly, the Indians did not anticipate that sort of performance carrying forward into the future.

The Indians also announced several injured list placements, all of which were known in advance. Shortstop Francisco Lindor, second baseman Jason Kipnis, and outfielder Bradley Zimmer are all on the shelf to begin the season.

Indians To Select Contract Of Hanley Ramirez, Place Francisco Lindor On IL

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The Indians have announced a pair of notable roster decisions, as MLB.com’s Mandy Bell was among those to cover (Twitter links). Hanley Ramirez has been informed he’ll be on the roster, while star shortstop Francisco Lindor will begin the year on the 10-day injured list.

Neither of these moves represents much of a surprise, but they’re still notable. Ramirez will earn at a $1MM rate in the big leagues under his minors deal, which also includes incentives — the details of which remain unreported. It’s not yet known if he’ll be asked (and whether he’ll agree) to sign an advance-consent form.

Lindor was already a candidate to open the year on ice owing to a calf strain, but he’ll now need treatment on another lower-leg ailment as well. The club says that the shortstop suffered an “acute ankle sprain” in a baserunning mishap yesterday. It’s a “mild to moderate” sprain, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer tweets. His precise timeline is not yet known.

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