The Boston Red Sox officially began Spring Training games on Wednesday, dropping their Grapefruit League opener 7-4 to the Minnesota Twins at Jet Blue Park in Fort Myers, Florida. As there are for every team, there are certainly a lot of story lines coming out of Red Sox camp to follow as we move deeper into March. Will the additions of Carson Smith and Craig Kimbrel help the bullpen rebound from a dismal 2015? Can David Price lead a rotation that lacked anything resembling a true ace last year? And after performing well under bench coach Torey Lovullo in the final months of the season while manager John Farrell recovered from lymphoma, how will the team respond now that Farrell is back at the helm?
However, perhaps the most important thread to follow as Spring Training rolls on revolves around the development of new first baseman Hanley Ramirez. Of course, Ramirez is not new two the team. Signed away from the Los Angeles Dodgers last off-season four four years and $88 million, Ramirez is actually working on his second stint with the organization; he began his career as a Red Sox farmhand before being shipped to the then-Florida Marlins in a trade that brought starter Josh Beckett to Boston. Hanley’s return to New England was supposed to help propel the Sox out of last place and into the post-season. As often happens, expectation diverged severely from reality.
Ramirez turned in a 2015 season that can only be described as a disaster. He played in only 105 games, as his history of injuries followed him home to Boston, and contributed little at the plate when he was healthy, batting a paltry .249 with a .717 OPS, both among the lowest such numbers in his career. As for his play underneath the Green Monster, well, lets just say he made Manny Ramirez look graceful by comparison. It wasn’t just that he played the position poorly (though he certainly did that, as he was charged with four errors and a .969 fielding percentage in his first season at the position), it was more that he seemed uninterested in learning to play it well.
Whether his on field appearance accurately reflected his true feelings about his new position matters little, if at all. What fans saw soured them on Ramirez quickly, and in Boston that can doom a player’s tenure with the team. In an effort to save what seems like yet another failed big money signing, the Red Sox decided to move Ramirez to first base, where his defensive shortcomings might be more effectively hidden, for the the 2016 season.
So far, Ramirez is at least talking the talk. He reported to camp in better shape, spoke apologetically about last season, and sounded determined to make amends. The real question is if the experiment is even worth it. Of course, the answer, at this point, must be yes; no team could give up on that kind of contract just one year in, and Ramirez has no trade value at the moment. The Red Sox have no choice but to try to squeeze out of him whatever value remains.
Still, its a question that deserves to be asked. There’s no guarantee that Hanley can adjust to another new position this late in his career. The truth is that the odds are against him. He’s never been much of a defender and has never played first before. When asked to play a new position last season, he imploded. At this early stage, there’s little reason to believe history won’t repeat itself.
Even if he can adjust to first, there’s no guarantee his bat will return to form. Maybe having to focus less on his defense will allow him to relax at the plate. Then again, maybe it won’t. He’s managed a batting average above .250 for a season just twice since 2010, and in 2013, when his hit .345, he played in just eighty-six games, making it seem like an aberration rather than something to expect. His best days with the lumber seem to be behind him.
And even if Ramirez hits decently, there’s no guarantee he’ll be available with any sort of consistency. He’s seen his campaigns shortened by injury in three of the last five seasons. Coming on an off the disabled list will make it even harder for him to develop consistency on defense and on offense.
If it wasn’t for that ugly dollar figure attached to his contract, the Red Sox might be better off benching him in favor of youngster Travis Shaw. Though he appeared in just sixty-five games for the Red Sox last season, Shaw showed what he was capable of, leading many fans to call for him to be named the starter at first over Ramirez. He has legitimate power, and used it to launch thirteen long bombs in 226 at-bats as a compliment to his very respectable .270 average and .822 OPS.
Those numbers aren’t flukes, either. He hit 69 home runs over five minor league seasons, and hit twenty-one in back-to-back years from 2013 to 2014. He was a career .261 hitter in his minor league career, but hit .278 in 2014 and .287 in 2012.
He’s competent with the leather as well. He’s a career .991 fielder at first base in the minors, and carried that success with him to Boston, recording a .994 fielding percentage in his limited playing time. He’s also versatile enough to play third.
Yet because of Hanley Ramirez’s contract, Shaw will be relegated to the bench. Sure, it’ll be nice to have such a reliable backup, and he’s great insurance in the (likely) event of an injury. But one has to wonder what Shaw could do over a full season as the starting first baseman. We may still find out one day, but it probably won’t be this year.
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