Red Sox Predictions: Players in danger of being left off postseason roster
By Sean Penney
Hanley Ramirez
Speaking of hitters who have been a massive disappointment against lefties, Ramirez has been almost as abysmal against southpaws as Young.
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Hanley is hitting .191 with a .724 OPS against lefties. The original plan was to bench Moreland against left-handed starters to allow Ramirez to play first base and Young to DH. While Moreland still doesn’t hit lefties well, the plan backfired when both Ramirez and Young proved to be even worse.
Ramirez is having a down season regardless of which hand the opposing pitcher throws from but keeping him off the postseason roster entirely is a long shot. He still leads the Red Sox in home runs, so a team that ranks last in the league in that category can’t afford to exclude him entirely.
We only have a small sample size to analyze in September, but so far it’s been his worst month. Ramirez is hitting .194/.219/.323 over his last 31 at-bats. At a time he should be fighting for his roster spot, Hanley is falling apart.
If Ramirez doesn’t turn things around in a hurry then he is at risk of losing playing time. If he’s not hitting lefties the Red Sox would be better off leaving Moreland at first base to capitalize on his stellar defense. They could use Travis as the DH, or plug Nunez in that spot if he’s not filling in for Bogaerts.