Hanley Ramirez’s release became official yesterday afternoon when he went unclaimed on waivers, and he’s now a free agent who is eligible to sign with any big league team. Because the Red Sox are paying the roughly $15MM remaining on his 2018 salary, any new club can sign him to a big league deal that guarantees him only the pro-rated league minimum — roughly $358K. The vesting option that was on his last contract was torn up the moment he was released, so he’s free to sign anywhere on a straight one-year deal.
The 34-year-old Ramirez was outstanding in April (.330/.400/.474) and abysmal in May (.163/.200/.300), and his overall .254/.313/.395 batting line through 195 plate appearances checks in well south of a league-average bat in the estimation of metrics like OPS+ (88) and wRC+ (90).
It’s not especially difficult to see what contributed to his downfall when looking at his batted-ball data in each month. Fangraphs credited Ramirez with a whopping 40.3 percent hard-contact rate in April, and he posted an excellent 24.7 percent line-drive rate that month. In May, his hard-hit rate plummeted to to just 20.9 percent, and his line-drive rate dropped to 4.5 percent. The cause of that deterioration in quality of contact, of course, will be up to his next team to determine, but it’s clear that Ramirez was going through something more than a mere BABIP-fueled slump.
Where exactly he’ll sign in the coming days figures to be a source of no small amount of speculation (both here and elsewhere). Ramirez’s recent plate appearances were clearly not encouraging, nor was a 2017 season in which he battled shoulder injuries and hit just .242/.320/.429, albeit with 23 homers. Ramirez hasn’t had a healthy, productive full season in the big leagues since slashing .286/.361/.505 with 30 big flies and 28 doubles in 620 PAs with the 2016 Red Sox. It’s a lot to expect him to return to that at age 34, even if his shoulder is recovered from 2017’s injuries.
Still, Ramirez is a no-risk proposition for any club that signs him, and if he can provide even slightly above-average production at the plate, he’d be a fine asset to acquire at the minimum rate. Given his track record and the relative peanuts he’ll cost, it’s a virtual lock that Ramirez will sign with what will be his fourth MLB organization over the next few days.
The Rockies jump out as an immediate potential fit. Ian Desmond has been their primary first baseman, but they’ve cycled through a few players at the position and received a disastrous .190/.277/.346 from their first basemen on the season. Ramirez wouldn’t even need to improve upon his overall season output to date in order to represent a massive upgrade for the Rox; merely hitting at a below-average but still-competent rate would improve their lineup substantially.
The Mets have been an oft-speculated fit for Ramirez on Twitter, but Adrian Gonzalez and Wilmer Flores have formed roughly average platoon at first base, and it’d be a surprise to see the Mets jettison one veteran first baseman with an average bat to pick up another who hits from the same side of the dish as Flores.
Braves fans have suggested that Ramirez could play third for them as a bridge to prospect Austin Riley, but it doesn’t seem likely that any club would give Ramirez regular reps at a position other than first base. Still, Atlanta did roll the dice on a comeback tour at the hot corner for Jose Bautista, so perhaps the idea shouldn’t be entirely dismissed.
Generally speaking, the bulk of the contending clubs in the National League have received solid production at first base, so it’s seems far more likely he’ll end up in the American League rather than get buried as a bench bat on an NL roster. After all, the DH slot can help mask the fact that he’s somewhat of a defensive liability.
The Orioles and Royals are the only two teams who have failed to get above-replacement-level production from both their first base and DH slots on the whole. With that in mind, though, the Orioles already have three first base/DH types on their roster and therefore would have to jettison one of Pedro Alvarez or Danny Valencia. Both of those players have been generally productive on the year, so a move to acquire Ramirez wouldn’t make much sense. The Royals, though, have been rolling out Hunter Dozier at first base. He has options remaining, and Ramirez could prove an upgrade if he’s able to put an ugly May behind him.
One has to wonder how much longer the Blue Jays will be willing to send Kendrys Morales to the plate; after being worth -0.6 fWAR last season due to a wRC+ of just 97 across 608 plate appearances, he’s already matched that negative fWAR total in just 141 PA in 2018 thanks to a .208/.284/.344 batting line. Ramirez would provide the Jays with a clear upgrade at DH.
The Rays and White Sox both stand out as teams who would benefit from having Ramirez in the lineup. The Rays haven’t gotten much out of Brad Miller this season or last, while the White Sox seem to have a rotating cast of rookies and sophomores cycling through that slot in their lineup. Still, being that both clubs are in rebuilding phases, it’s possible that they’d benefit more from simply seeing what they have in young players.
We’ll leave it up to the readers at this point. Where do you think Ramirez will end up? (Poll link for app users)
qbass187
Yankees probably. They can NEVER resist Red Sox cast offs.
ctguy
The Yankees certainly don’t need him.
thegreatcerealfamine
He’s Trolling…
NotaGM
Waste of space to say someone trolling. Just like me commenting is a waste.
thegreatcerealfamine
Hanley is on the paid to play another place Red Sox team.
jdgoat
“…can’t resist Red Sox castoffs…”
They have Ellsbury and…?
brucenewton
They’ve signed others for the backside of their careers. Damon, Boggs, probably others.
thegreatcerealfamine
Those two weren’t “castoffs” they were FA and both of them were really important to winning a Ship. The Sox have acquired former Yanks also.
callingoutdummies247
Clemens
thegreatcerealfamine
They acquired from the Blue Jays.
rocky7
I don’t recall Ellsbury being “castoff” by the Sox….just overwhelmed by the Yankees offer when he elected free agency.The Sox probably would have re-signed him had the Yankees not blown him away with their offer.
And, as far as Damon and Boggs, they were also free agents who elected to accept the Yankees offer and weren’t banished by the Sox!
Maybe you would care to comment on the $millions the Sox are paying for Panda, Hanley, and of course RUSNEY!!!!! not to play for them.
bababooeytoyall
Check mate and match.
ba2929
I don’t think there is any chance the Royals sign Hanley. Outside of Dozier, who has been decent and they need to see what they have there, they have Lucas Duda on the DL and they like to mix in Sal Perez and Moose at DH. There is just no spot for Hanley and they’re already up against their payroll max.
bhambrave
As long as it’s not the Braves.
brucewayne
Rays or Rockies!
Jack Taddy
I voted Marlins (in my head)
bronxboy28
Seattle
Travis’ Wood
No chance. They have Healy and Cruz
Solaris601
The Rockies have nothing to lose in signing Ramirez, but they have a legit shot to win the NL West this year, so I think they’ll aim higher than Hanley. I see COL dealing for Justin Bour. I voted TB because their lineup desperately needs some pop and they’re in super-ultra-maxi-mega-deluxe thrift mode right now and won’t spend a dime over league minimum for any acquisition.
Travis’ Wood
Makes more sense for Rox to sign Hanley and use trade chips to upgrade elsewhere. They should sign him but I’d bet money they don’t.
Travis’ Wood
Awful list of teams. Indians and Twins are two of the more likely destinations (platoon with Alonso and Lomo). Royals? Rays? Lol what? Should be Rockies but I will guess Indians. Too bad I couldn’t actually vote for them.
HubcapDiamondStarHalo
With the Sugar Land Skeeters.
aj_54
ha
darkstar61
Don’t the Jays owe Kendrys something like 12-14 million next season too, on top of the many millions they are paying him the rest of the way this year? Hard to see them swallowing that pill yet.
Travis’ Wood
Sunk cost. Kendrys is toast. Just an awful contract from day one and everyone knew it.
darkstar61
No doubt. Still remember an argument I had with a Jays homer over him around the time of the signing. Unbelievably easy to predict.
But I just don’t see the Jays admitting it yet
Travis’ Wood
You’re probably right. Same goes for Rockies and Desmond. Should move on but won’t
DanielDannyDano
The J’s are already dangerously right handed. Hanley is not going to help address that. Switch hitting is the only reason Morales is still a Jay.
hiflew
Big difference. Morales has 1+ yearsand around $20 million left on his deal. Desmond has 3+ years and around $60 million left on that deal. Like it or not, Desmond is in Colorado for a while.
harry hood
Wilner didn’t know it.
ThatBallwasBryzzoed
Dodgers. Low risk. They need a SS. He knows the organization well.
1 year 5mil. With incentives.
darkstar61
He’s no longer a SS. Nor would any team be so stupid as to pay him more than league minimum
Travis’ Wood
SS? Are you drunk? $5 mil? Are you drunk?
Blue_Painted_Dreams_LA
Bahhaha he can barely play passable defense at 1st. There’s no chance the Dodgers sign him even for the league minimum. Plus Taylor is starting to heat up after a rough April. But he’s not a SS and no one is going to pay him over the .375 K. I’d say he end up with the Rockies, but that might be to obvious to occur.
roberty
It doesn’t make any sense but I hope it’s the Mets. It would be hilarious to see HanRam, Adrian Gonzalez, Jose Bautista and Jose Reyes on the same team. Of course this fantasy also includes a Matt Kemp signing after he inevitably falls off a cliff and the Dodgers release him. They would be world series contenders…in 2010.
justin-turner overdrive
How can it NOT be the Mets? Their dumb@ss front office probably already has an offer out to him just so they can block Smith some more. Or maybe they’ll play him somewhere else so they can go back to blocking the awesome Nimmo like they’ve been doing up until this year?
I wish MLB did better quality control on their product and force teams like the Mets, Marlins, Rays, Jays and Orioles to get new people in to run their teams, because there ain’t more clueless people in pro sports than those people.
jakec77
Gun to my head, I have to choose between Hanley Ramirez or Jose Bautista as my 3b I’d choose Ramirez, so in that sense the Braves should be clear choice.
But, Ramirez doesn’t have the best rep as a clubhouse guy, I wonder if they’d really want him around all the young players coming up.
darkstar61
Ha! This literally made me laugh
Travis’ Wood
But they don’t have to choose between Bautista and Hanley because Camargo is their 3B and Bautista isn’t on their team. So your hypothetical makes no sense
Foreveryankees
No where to put him! Your not playing him over Bird or Austin at first. No where in the our field! Yankees, not a chance!
#Fantasygeekland
Depending on what their plans are with Vlad Jr, I think the Blue Jays make plenty of sense.
stormie
Most people seem convinced they will just keep Vlad down until the middle of next April, but I don’t see it. Once Donaldson is moved it’s almost impossible for them to justify not bringing Vlad up, the only really good argument they have right now is that he wouldn’t be able to play 3B. Either way, Ramirez could be a fit at DH or later 1B if they can move Smoak at the deadline.
dsaint
Renting beach chairs in PR…
2weeks
hes going to be sign by clevland
playicy
Yankees or dodgers
chophawk
With the way Camargo has been swinging it recently and Riley hitting well in AAA, I don’t the it makes sense for the Braves.
justin-turner overdrive
It doesn’t, Riley is better right now, but Camargo is a fine bridge to whenever they decide to bring up Riley.
ASapsFables
It’s his choice as a FA so you would figure Hanley Ramirez’ preference would be to sign with a strong contender who can give him regular AB’s at 1B or DH. Ideally that team would be in the AL where the DH is an option for a player who has defensive limitations. Unfortunately there are really no strong contenders listed in this article with the Rays and Blue Jays buried behind the Red Sox and Yankees and also well behind in the wild card race.
With that in mind, I voted for the Colorado Rockies as Ramirez’ next destination. Despite their mediocre W-L record they still sit atop the NL West as I post. The Rockies would then have the option of giving Ramirez’ the bulk of AB’s at 1B and can relegate Ian Desmond to a platoon role in the outfield. Both bat right-handed but Desmond has much better splits versus southpaw pitching where he could spell left-handed hitting Carlos Gonzalez in RF or Gerardo Parra in LF versus lefties. Ramirez signing with the Rockies makes even more sense now that LF David Dahl is on the disabled list where he is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with a broken right foot.
Begamin
Its tricky, teams out of contention probably dont want him because it would be wasted money and still no playoff berth while teams in contention dont need him. Maybe the Rockies will get him. D-Backs?
Polish Hammer
Depends on the team. If you’re out of it and have youngsters that need ABs and are blocked by his presence then of course it’s a no. If he can plug a hole there’s no risk at all, if he finds his stroke you can flip him for something to a contender as the season goes on.
kevro2139
twins not an option?
Perksy
I could see him going to the Mets.
bhambrave
Now that Pedroia is on the DL, could Boston re-sign him?
astrosfan
Rangers or Astros would be a great landing spot
tonysdog01
Come now people. Seriously? The Mets of course. He fits the Mets profile. 34 years old. At least mostly washed up and they can get him for minimum salary. He can join Gonzalez and Bautista and Frazier and….. I’m sure you get the pint.
justin-turner overdrive
Don’t forget he adds to the group of washups blocking the perfectly-fine Dom Smith! The Mets absolutely love blocking guys until they have no choice, just like they did with Nimmo who thank god is forcing them to play him.
msjrn509
CAPTAIN NIMMO
champion1701
With Belt going on the DL with appendicitis the Giants needs someone to fill in on first, and it would be hilarious if the red Sox were paying for two Giants lol
Talbotstigers
Theirs really only one option on that list. Rockies. Hes not signing with anyone but a contender. Royals bluejays and rays are out. Mets wont and toronto wont.
msjrn509
ST LOUIS CARDINALS,DEFENSIVE UPGRADE.
Fg-3
He would fit the yanks as a spot Dh
When Stanton plays outfield.. a power bat. Would be imposing against a lefty rotation
bbird216
MARLINS to draw fans
johansantana17
The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
377194
The Mets will add him to the Senior Citizen Club.