Hanley Ramirez’s vacation is over and it’s time for him to begin preparing for the 2016 season. Boston Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski thus scheduled a meeting with the slugger.
It went “great,” according to Dombrowski.
“I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page as far as going forward here,” Dombrowski told reporters Monday at the MLB General Managers Meetings. “We had a great meeting. I guess it lasted 45 minutes or something like that, and (we) just had a chance to make sure everything was set.”
Ramirez, who recently returned from a vacation with his family, drove from his home just outside of Miami to Boca Raton, Fla., where the MLB GM Meetings are taking place this week, to meet with Dombrowski. The three-time All-Star was joined by his agent, Adam Katz.
The sides discussed several topics during their meeting, and Dombrowski came away feeling optimistic about Ramirez’s chances of bouncing back in 2016 after a disappointing 2015 campaign.
“I said we’€™re counting on him for big things next year,” said Dombrowski, who added that Ramirez is feeling no pain in his previously injured shoulder. “We’€™re counting on him to be our first baseman. I asked him if he thought he could play first base. He said, ‘I can play shortstop, I can play third base, I can play first base.’ He seemed comfortable. Now when I say that, all of this stuff will be action-based.”
Ramirez already is working out, but he hasn’t begun taking ground balls yet. That’ll come in time, obviously, as Ramirez shifts back to the infield following a disastrous season in the outfield. The Red Sox just haven’t asked him to begin that part of his preparation.
Ramirez soon will head to the Dominican Republic, where he’ll spend a couple of months working on his conditioning. Teammate (and fellow D.R. native) David Ortiz is expected to join him.
Red Sox bench coach (then interim manager) Torey Lovullo said last month the organization asked Ramirez to lose weight before reporting to spring training. Dombrowski clarified that request Monday, saying the hope is for Ramirez, who turns 32 next month, to regain some of the athleticism he might have lost by bulking up last winter.
“We’€™re not giving him a mandatory weight, by any means,” Dombrowski said. “But more athletic, more focused on hitting doubles, using the whole field, driving in runs than worrying about hitting the ball out of the ballpark for 40 home runs.
“Sometimes I think when you play left field or you play first base, you put in your own mind that you have to be a power hitter, and that’€™s not the case at all. He’€™ll hit enough home runs. We want him to be a productive hitter and drive in a lot of runs. We want to make sure again that we’€™re all on the same page. And he was fine with it. He understood it and I think he’€™ll go forward with that type of mindset.”
As Dombrowski said, Ramirez’s progress will be “action-based,” meaning all of the meetings in the world won’t mean anything unless he puts in the work. That said, the Red Sox can feel good about where things stand with Ramirez as they embark on a very important offseason.
“The meeting went great and I was impressed,” Dombrowski said. “He was here, he was on time, he was ready to go. Looked fine. But it was really at our request so we could just all sit down and visit.”
Baby steps, folks. Baby steps.
Thumbnail photo via Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports Images
