In the wake of the news regarding David Price‘s elbow soreness, it also came out that Ramirez would not be playing in the World Baseball Classic for his native Dominican Republic.
During the early parts of the spring, Ramirez started to feel discomfort in his right shoulder, the opposite shoulder of which has bothered him throughout his career.
It appears that the move is in precautionary measure, as the Red Sox do not want to risk Ramirez trying to play through the injury for national pride and end up injuring it worse, and possibly requiring surgery.