The Hanley Ramirez era in Boston is all but over, and for Red Sox skipper Alex Cora, the focus now is on moving forward with his current crop of players.
And given Cora was the one who broached the idea of designating Ramirez for assignment, it is clear that he had a vision in mind as to how he would manage his roster.
That was apparent in the manager’s pregame press conference on Friday, where he reacted to the decision to move on from the first baseman in lieu of moving a player like Blake Swihart.
“I don’t think he didn’t fit in, but I think his role was going to diminish,” Cora said of Ramirez. “And for how good of a player he is, it was going to be difficult. It was probably platoon, maybe come in and pinch hit late in games, and that’s not the perfect role for Hanley Ramirez. He’s a guy who needs his at-bats, obviously with the versatility we have with other players, with Brock (Holt), with (Eduardo) Nunez and with Blake, as far as managing the game it’s a lot easier with those guys.”
The new primary first baseman, Mitch Moreland, made it tough for Cora to routinely sit him. Moreland — who was inked to a two-year deal prior to this season — is hitting .311 this season with seven home runs.
But given the commitment that Ramirez had given to the team — such as promising a 30/30 campaign, even if it partially was in jest — plus Cora’s belief in him to be a serviceable hitter in the No. 3 spot, Ramirez often got chance after chance.
And while that panned out early in the season, the going got tough over the past few weeks, and he continued struggling with the opportunities he got.
“Managing at the big leagues is difficult anyways,” Cora said. “We felt we gave him all the chances, he hit third for this team, he did an outstanding job early in the season. But sometimes you’ve got to make tough decisions, and on a daily basis sometimes it was tough not to play Mitch and sometimes it was tough not to play Hanley, just like everybody else.”
The struggle of balancing Moreland and Ramirez’s playing time has been on Cora’s radar all season, even before the former started tearing the cover off the ball.
But given the slew of highly versatile players on the bench, the Sox believed a bench role simply wasn’t going to work for Ramirez.
“This is something that, as you guys know since I got to spring training, probably somebody asked me about how we’re going to use Mitch and Hanley, how we’re going to make this work,” Cora said. “And I think it worked for a while, but obviously now with the addition of Dustin and the versatility of the other guys, it’s a move that’s surprising for a lot of people, but it’s a baseball move.”
The Red Sox appear confident in their decision, and by keeping Swihart around they have a safety net should one of their catchers sustain an injury.
Still, there certainly is some shock to the decision. But given what Cora and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski voiced Friday afternoon, it is clear that the move was something they had put plenty of thought into and are at peace with.
