Massarotti: Is There A Deal For Red Sox To Make For Hanley Ramirez?
BOSTON (CBS) -- Slightly more than two weeks before Opening Day, Hanley Ramirez remains anchored at first base, on the right side of the Red Sox infield. All rhetoric suggests that Ramirez and the Red Sox are all systems go, though we still cannot help but wonder if the Red Sox have anything up their sleeves.
Will Ramirez really be here in two more weeks?
Are the Red Sox really committed to this?
Or is there a deal out there to be made, one that would solve one of the Red Sox high-rent problems and open the door for stampeding Travis Shaw?
Make of this what you will, but according to a tweet from Boston Globe reporter Alex Speier, agent Adam Katz, who represents Ramirez, was in camp earlier this week. The whispers out of Fort Myers were that Katz was merely making customary spring rounds, something that is not at all out of the ordinary for agents during spring training. Katz is based on the west coast, which makes a trip to Florida all the more logical because he can see multiple clients in multiple camps by making one cross-country trip, as opposed to multiple ones.
And for what it's worth, Katz also represents Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez, who is rehabilitating from elbow surgery. Many agents have multiple clients in multiple camps.
Nonetheless, this is the stage of camp when teams begin making real roster decisions, when injuries have affected the rosters of some teams, prompting them to examine the depth of others. Earlier this week, for example, Chicago White Sox first baseman Adam LaRoche abruptly retired from the team over a silly dispute about his 14-year-old son's presence in the clubhouse. Maybe the White Sox would be interested in someone like Ramirez and maybe they wouldn't – it always comes down to the money, right? – but the point is obvious.
SEE ALSO: Massarotti: Red Sox Better Off With Travis Shaw Over Hanley Ramirez
If and when any team has a need for the proverbial corner bat – even if the player doesn't necessarily possess a corner glove – Ramirez would be a logical target. He has talent, after all. And for the right price, he's worth a gamble.
Two nights ago, for what it's worth, Ramirez made a diving play to his left and fed the pitcher at first base for a nifty out. It was a good play, not a great one, but the Red Sox aren't expecting great ones from a player whom one Red Sox official once suggested, years ago, was a "future Hall-of-Famer." That was a long, long time ago, when Ramirez was viewed as a potential 30-30 player who could play in the middle of the diamond, the purest definition of a franchise player in the game.
Years later, we now know that the worrisome glitch from years ago has become Ramirez's undoing: his work ethic. His attitude. His heart. Ramirez grades low in all areas. Hanley has never really cared, not really, because to do so would require dealing with frustration and failure, and, well, Hanley cannot cope with that because he is, as people keep telling us, sensitive.
So what the Red Sox now have, incredibly, is an $88 million experiment for the second year in a row. Last year, left field resulted in a five-alarm laboratory fire that helped undo the Red Sox season. This year? Only heaven knows. But the first time Hanley botches a play that opens the door for an opposing four-run inning, maybe people will understand that you can't just take the worst fielder on the team and plant him at first base.
In any case, here's the ultimate point: if the Red Sox are truly committed to Ramirez at first base, they shouldn't be – or at least, they shouldn't be committed to Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval both. They should still be looking to eat money and trade one or the other. Entering camp, Ramirez was the easier and more obvious choice. Then Sandoval showed up and started kicking balls around the infield, which means the Red Sox have twice as many positions to fill (two) as they do Travis Shaws (one).
Will the Red Sox open the season with Ramirez at first and Sandoval at third? Probably. But they should be looking to deal one or either in the coming week or so, when teams will essentially be finalizing their spring rosters. If they don't, manager John Farrell should follow through and go to Shaw, as he suggested early in camp, because Farrell needs to do to Ramirez and Sandoval what Dave Dombrowski is doing to him.
Keep them on a very, very short leash.
