Hanley Ramirez showed up to Boston Red Sox spring training 10 months ago bulked up. His increased weight made sense because of his switch from shortstop to left field, but the intended results didn’t follow.
Ramirez was asked to take a different approach this offseason, as he transitions back to the infield at first base. Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski asked him to come to spring training “more athletic,” and Ramirez says he’s on board with that.
“I’ve been doing a lot of cardio and agility because to play the infield, that’s the difference,” Ramirez told reporters Friday at David Ortiz’s charity golf tournament in the Dominican Republic, via the Boston Herald. “I’ve been in the infield my whole life. This is nothing new for me, in the infield.”
While first base is a new position for him, Ramirez says he has been taking grounders at his old stomping grounds to help with the transition.
“I’ve been working out at shortstop,” he said. “You think it’s funny, but it’s going to make it easier to go to first. Just work on my hands, relaxing my hands, and that’s it. We’re going to concentrate on footwork and all that stuff in maybe in like a week with the team I was supposed to play winter league with and just go there and try to get some work done.”
Ramirez’s second stint with the Red Sox got off to a strong start in April, but he couldn’t sustain that level of production. He finished the season with 19 homers and 53 RBIs, and he had a lengthy stint on the disabled list with a shoulder injury.
Ramirez says there’s no pain in his right shoulder and that he is “100 percent.” Now his focus is on preparing for the 2016 season and turning things around in Boston.
“Hopefully I don’t run into the wall anymore and I can stay healthy the whole year,” he said. “It’s what happens when you’re hurt. … It’s hard to watch the game from the dugout. It’s not the same. What can I say, I’m going to keep grinding every day.”
Thumbnail photo via Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images
