Why Red Sox’s Alex Cora Is Surprised Hanley Ramirez Remains Unsigned

It’s been a little over two weeks since the Boston Red Sox released Hanley Ramirez, but the slugging first baseman remains on the free agent market.

That comes as a surprise to many, including the man responsible for Ramirez’s release.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora recommended the team cut ties with the 34-year-old, but that doesn’t mean he believes Ramirez is washed up. In fact, Cora expected Ramirez to have a new home by now.

“I mean, I’ve got my job here, I’m the manager of the Red Sox, so I can’t, like, relate to the other GMs or the managers,” Cora recently told the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato. “It’s the nature of the game. There’s a lot of guys that, last year they played and they’re not playing this year or they’re in Triple-A. So, I don’t know. I don’t know what to think.

“Like I said, he’s healthy and willing to work with a good attitude. I thought it was going to happen earlier, but now, it’s a little bit of a surprise. But it’s just the way it is.”

Ramirez’s days as a consistent, middle-of-the-order force likely are behind him. He was batting just .254 with seven homers through 44 games before his release, an uninspiring encore to his .242, 23-homer performance last season.

Still, Ramirez is a proven postseason performer and one who has a reputation for hitting good pitching. So it likely won’t be much longer before a contender snatches him up.