• Home
  • Mail
  • Tumblr
  • News
  • Sports
  • Finance
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Answers
  • Groups
  • Mobile
  • More
Yahoo
    • Skip to Navigation
    • Skip to Main Content
    • Skip to Related Content
    • Mail
    Entertainment Home
    Follow Us
    • Diversity in Hollywood
    • Oscars
    • TV
    • Movies
    • Celebrity
    • Music
    • Videos
    • Movie Showtimes

    Fenway shocker: Hanley Ramirez designated for assignment

    Scott Pianowski
    Roto ArcadeMay 25, 2018
    Reblog
    Share
    Tweet
    Share
    Hanley Ramirez fell into a May slump and has a pending contract bonus. Friday, he was designated for assignment (AP)

    Hanley Ramirez is currently the No. 7 first baseman in 5×5 value this year.

    He’s also a man who’s been designated for assignment by his club, the Boston Red Sox.

    No one ever said fantasy was a perfect game. But hey, I like minding that gap. This is why we do the dance we do.

    The Red Sox needed to make a roster move with Dustin Pedroia coming off the DL, and the ultimate decision was a stunner. Ramirez was designated for assignment Friday. Boston has seven days to trade or release the 34-year-old.

    [Yahoo Fantasy Football leagues are open: Sign up now for free]

    Boston will probably be on the hook for the remainder of Hanley’s $15 million contract this year, but the decision also frees the team from a likely $22 million vesting option that was coming if Ramirez made it to 497 plate appearances this year. As a big-market team, the Red Sox probably would have accepted Hanley’s windfall if he was producing. But he’s been a pothole in the middle of the lineup for a while.

    Ramirez’s back-of-the-card stats don’t look that bad: he’s batting .254, with six homers, 29 RBIs, 25 runs, four steals. In our 5×5 game, that’s a useful player. The lineup around Hanley — he’s slotted third most of the year — has propped up his counting stats.

    Ramirez pushed off to a great start in April: .330/.400/.474, three homers and three steals. He’s had three more May homers, but it’s come with a .163/.200/.300 slash. You need Hanley to be hitting, because he’s a defensive liability at any position. Check out Ramirez’s Fangraphs page — he currently has a negative grade for baserunning, offense, defense, and WAR. (He also turned that unfortunate trick last year, for what it’s worth.)

    Like most teams, the Red Sox have an answer at first base. Mitch Moreland and Ramirez have split the work 50-50 this year; now Moreland (who’s 74-percent available in Yahoo) can play most of the time. Hanley and J.D. Martinez were time-sharing the DH role; now Martinez has a clear path to that gig. Martinez might not like being a one-dimensional player, but when your outfield defense consists of Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr. (who’s not hitting, that’s another issue), and Mookie Betts, it’s hard to justify letting Martinez carry a glove around.

    If you’re a Hanley owner in fantasy, you hold onto him and let things play out. Someone is going to let him play, somewhere. Maybe a change of scenery will do him good. Boston is one of the hardest cities to play in when you’re going bad.

    The Pedroia activation also raises some questions. He’s coming back from a major left-knee injury; he had a cartilage restoration procedure on it in October. If he’s ready to play most of the time at second base, it pushes Eduardo Nunez into limbo. Not that this would hurt the offense much, given that Nunez has been a .249/.267/.370 sinkhole this year. That hashes out to a 68 OPS+, where 100 is average. He’s been a slightly above-average offensive player for the last three years.

    Pedroia’s category juice was lacking in 105 games last year, though he still had a .293 average and .369 OBP. It hashed out to a 99 OPS+, an average player. He had an excellent season in 2016, and another injury-ravaged year in 2015. It’s hard to say what he has left, three months from his 34th birthday.

    Boston hosts Atlanta for a three-game series this weekend, starting Friday. Come for the park, stay for the frisky young Braves and the soap opera of the Red Sox. Get your popcorn ready, or grab a tasty sandwich somewhere around Lansdowne Street.

    Follow the Yahoo fantasy baseball crew on Twitter: Andy Behrens, Dalton Del Don, and Scott Pianowski

    Reblog
    Share
    Tweet
    Share

    What to Read Next

    • From ‘Sex Dwarf’ to Sex Cells: Soft Cell’s Marc Almond reflects on 40 years on the fringe

      Yahoo Music
    • 'My 600-lb. Life' star Sean Milliken dies at 29

      Yahoo TV
    • Charo Says Husband Battled Skin Disease, Depression Before His Suicide: 'He Ended His Suffering'

      People
    • Meghan Markle Reunites With Besties Serena Williams and Jessica Mulroney for Dinner in NYC -- See the Pics!

      Entertainment Tonight
    • Kim Kardashian Slams Fast Fashion Brands for Knocking Off Her Looks: 'It's Devastating to See'

      People
    • Kylie Jenner Says Her Family Cut Her Off Financially at Age 15: 'None of My Money Is Inherited'

      People
    • 90 Day Fiancé's Anfisa Nava Pursues Bodybuilding as Husband Serves Time in Prison

      People
    • Jussie Smollett reportedly cut from remaining 'Empire' episodes as attack investigation continues

      Yahoo Celebrity
    • Blake Shelton 'grateful every day' he's not with Miranda Lambert anymore: report

      AOL.com
    • Barack Obama Dined at Ayesha Curry's San Francisco Restaurant—and Chrissy Teigen Was There Too!

      People
    • Jordyn Woods Modeled for Khloé Kardashian's Clothing Line Before Alleged Cheating Scandal

      People
    • Khloé Kardashian & Tristan Thompson Break Up After He Hooks Up with Jordyn Woods

      TheBlast
    • Kate Beckinsale Bites Back at Fan Who Criticizes Her Choice in Men

      Entertainment Tonight
    • Lady Gaga and Christian Carino End Their Engagement After Two Years Together

      Entertainment Tonight
    • 'I Love You. I've Been Shot at Work': Aurora Workplace Shooting Victim Texted Wife As He Lay Dying

      People
    • Former acting FBI director believes Trump could be a Russian asset

      Yahoo TV

    MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace To Trump Defenders: Time To 'Get Off The Titanic'

    Jake: Think about this.... "tell him that after the election I will have more room to move"... and the Ukraine was suddenly annexed.... that is fact and proof. I can't find any proof that has led to a positive or realized fact in this article?

    Join the Conversation
    1 / 5

    432

    • Buzz Aldrin Fighting Son Over Control of His Money in Nasty Family Battle

      TheBlast
    • Jussie Smollett Case: Cook County State’s Attorney Recuses Herself

      The Wrap
    • Diversity in Hollywood 2019: By the numbers

      Yahoo Entertainment
    • Jussie Smollett investigation: 'Good Morning America' staffers had 'doubts' during interview with Robin Roberts

      AOL.com
    • Jackie O.'s Secret Service Agent Reveals How Sister Lee Radziwill Comforted Her After JFK's Death

      People
    • Kim Zolciak-Biermann Says Daughter Ariana, 17, Lost 30 Lbs. After Being Body-Shamed

      People
    • Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper: When We First Met the 'A Star Is Born' Duo

      Yahoo View
    • Critics call out Billy Ray Cyrus's weed photo: 'Every single person in jail right now for smoking pot should be released'

      Yahoo Celebrity
    • Khloé Kardashian Twins with Daughter True in Matching Leopard-Print Coats on Grocery Store Outing

      People
    • The Bachelor's Colton Underwood Brings 1 Woman Home to Meet His Family — Then Sends Her Packing

      People
    • Meghan Markle Once Revealed the 'Mother F-ing' Reason N.Y.C. Has Her 'Wrapped Around Its Little Finger'

      People
    • Carole Radziwill Reveals Intimate Scenes from Lee Radziwill's Final Years: 'Frail but with the Same Beauty'

      People
    • Kim Kardashian Denies 5-Year-Old Daughter North West Has a Boyfriend

      Entertainment Tonight
    • Kim Kardashian Wears Her Most Shocking Dress Ever as She Manages to Avoid a Nip Slip

      People
    • Khloe Kardashian's Best Friend Malika Haqq Says 'These H— Aint Loyal' on Meme About Jordyn Woods

      People
    • 40+ national security professionals to declare the border does not meet test of an emergency

      Yahoo View