Red Sox: Three players key to a dominant team in 2018
Hanley Ramirez
Okay, so I’m a little less optimistic with this one. Hanley is 34 years old. He has generated a positive WAR once in the last three seasons and, despite coming up huge in the clutch twice already, Hanley’s hitting to this point has done little to dispel the warning signs of his decline.
Even in what has been deemed a hot stretch by the media, Hanley has struck out more than 20% of the time while maintaining an ISO 50 points lower than last season and an insanely lucky .393 BABIP. The .818 OPS looks pretty nifty at the moment, but it’s a nine-game hot stretch that doesn’t appear to have many sustainable components to it.
The upside is that the horrendous Hanley we saw in 2015 and 2017 was partially due to injuries to his shoulders which sapped some of his power. Hanley probably isn’t as bad as he was during those two seasons.
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However, if he doesn’t mash like it’s 2016 it really won’t matter. Hanley has played in eight of the nine games thus far, demonstrating that manager Alex Cora does not intend to treat first base as a platoon between Mitch Moreland and Ramirez. Ramirez has been hitting thus well enough thus far to reward Cora’s faith.
However, as has been well documented this season, Hanley has a $22 million vesting option for 2019 that activates if he reaches 497 plate appearances. The Red Sox would hate to pay a mediocre 35-year-old that much money while Bryce Harper, Clayton Kershaw, Manny Machado, and Josh Donaldson all hit the open market.
Should he find himself in a rut, one would think Ramirez would be relegated to facing southpaws while Moreland takes on the bulk of the playing time. It remains to be seen if this is viable. While Ramirez has been a lefty killer in his career, in 2016, for example, he posted a 187 wRC+ against left-handers, last season he owned an abysmal .172 batting average against the same group.
The next month or so will be absolutely huge for Hanley Ramirez. If he keeps hitting he might keep slotting into that number three slot in the order. As soon as he starts slumping, however, he will be in danger of losing his place in the lineup altogether. The Red Sox could certainly use Hanley’s bat if he can be the guy who hit 32 homers in 2016. Another middle of the order presence could make this team a true juggernaut. But one would be wise to wait a bit longer to declare Hanley’s back.