Hanley Ramirez Is the Former $88M Superstar No MLB Team Wants to Sign

FILE - In this May 24, 2018, file photo, Boston Red Sox's Hanley Ramirez is shown during the first inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Red Sox have designated Hanley Ramirez for assignment to make room for Dustin Pedroia on the 25-man roster as he returns from the disabled list.(AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)

Chris O’Meara/Associated Press

Once upon a time, Hanley Ramirez was one of MLB‘s biggest superstars. It’s safe to say those days are over.

In May 2018, the Boston Red Sox designated Ramirez for assignment, which is a polite way of saying they opted to pay him approximately $15 million-plus to not play for them.

“I don’t think he didn’t fit in, but I think his role was going to diminish and for how good of a player he is, it was going to be difficult,” manager Alex Cora said at the time, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne.

It doesn’t take a Rhodes scholar to read between the lines.

In 44 games in 2018, Ramirez slashed .254/.313/.395. It was a low moment for the three-time All-Star and three-time top-10 MVP Award finisher. 

Now, after celebrating his 35th birthday in December and watching the Sox hoist a Commissioner’s Trophy without him, Ramirez is angling for a comeback in the Dominican winter league. 

In 18 games with the Tigres del Licey, he’s hitting .266 with an .829 OPS. Here he is swatting a baseball with extreme prejudice:

Yet, no offers have rolled in.

Partly, that’s due to the slowly developing free-agent market. With superstars such as Manny Machado and Bryce Harper unsigned, it makes sense for Ramirez to wait in line. It’s worth wondering, however, if a contract offer will ever come.

Ramirez’s hard-contact rate dipped from 35.3 percent in 2017 to 31.3 percent in 2018, per FanGraphs. Meanwhile, his weighted runs created plus (wRC+) fell to 89 from a career average of 125.

All of that paints a picture of a former star in decline. He’s in his mid-30s, which is not typically a time when renaissances occur.

It wasn’t that long ago—November 2014, to be exact—that the Red Sox gave Ramirez a four-year, $88 million deal. The notion was to move him to the outfield. 

That was, to put it bluntly, a bad notion.

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

After spending his career as an infielder, Ramirez posted minus-19 defensive runs saved in left field in 2015 and ultimately moved to first base. 

As his offense continued to tumble and he became more of a defensive drag, Ramirez went from impactful to superfluous to an albatross. As Sports Illustrated‘s Jon Tayler put it in May 2018:

“At 34 years old and with bad peripherals all over the place, it does feel like Ramirez has reached the end. Once a prolific slugger, Ramirez now struggles to catch up with fastballs, hitting just .257 with a .349 slugging percentage against them. … Some of that may be the residue of a shoulder injury suffered last year that required offseason surgery, but whatever the reason, that kind of offense isn’t tenable for a first baseman on a championship contender.”

The Sox moved on. And, it seems, the other 29 MLB teams moved on as well. Ramirez didn’t sign so much as a minor league pact after his release from Boston, and he still hasn’t.

It’s possible an AL club in need of a DH will take a flier on him. A minor league deal with a spring training invite feels about right. 

That’s a steep decline for a man who got MVP votes as recently as 2013. 

When the Red Sox cut Ramirez loose last season, they denied him a $22 million vesting option based on plate appearances. 

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

“I’ve got my money already; it doesn’t matter,” he said, per Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. “I just want to win.”

Fair enough. But now, the question isn’t whether he wants to win or lose. Instead, it’s whether he can secure a major league gig.

Once upon a time, Hanley Ramirez was one of MLB’s biggest superstars. Now, he’s scraping desperately to stay in the league. 

That’s a dizzying fall.

             

All statistics and contract information courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs

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