Cleveland, OH (92.3 The Fan) – The Indians announced the signing of three-time All-Star Hanley Ramirez on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old agreed to a minor-league deal worth $1 million, plus incentives according to Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. Ramirez would have to make the final roster, which could be a tall task for someone who hasn’t played baseball since being released by Boston last May.
“We need to let him settle in first,” manager Terry Francona said. “He played a little winter ball. He said he’s been hitting and stuff, but he’s mid-30’s – he hasn’t played a lot, so we need to let him get his legs under him, get some repetition. I talked to him this morning a little bit and told him to tell me when he thinks he’s ready to start getting in there.”
“I know we need to get a look at him, but I think you can rush it and mess it up. We don’t want to do that.”
We have signed INF Hanley Ramírez to a Minor League contract with a non-roster invite to Spring Training!Typo on our end before ... Hanley owns a career .290 average, and is the only active player with at least 250 career home runs and 250 stolen bases.#RallyTogether pic.twitter.com/SRjR7HWfWk
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) February 26, 2019In a perfect world, Ramirez would be the Indians' designated hitter and add a power bat to the heart of the lineup.
Ramirez has a .290/.361/.487 career slash line over 14 seasons, with 281 home runs and 909 RBI. Some have mentioned his lack of effort at times during his career. Stars have a longer leash, which is what Ramirez used to be. Now he’s an experienced veteran hoping to make a roster. The time off last season should offer him plenty of motivation to prove himself this spring.
“That has nothing to do with us,” Francona said when asked about Ramirez. “We ask the same of every single player. Show up on time, be a good teammate, try your ass off to do as good as you can. Whether a guy hit .300 in 1999 or whether he didn’t run a ball out in 2012 doesn’t influence us here. We treat people like they deserve to be treated.”
The Indians are giving the former Silver Slugger Award winner a real chance to make the roster. It’s up to Ramirez to take advantage of the opportunity.
