Thursday, June 21, 2018

Irony Of Ironies: Would Hanley Ramirez Help With Recent Offensive Slump?

(Getty Images)
As the "Raiders Of The Lost Offense" (particularly against lefties) make their ugly return, it begs the question: Would Hanley Ramirez have helped jump-start the Red Sox bats during this slump? It's something worth asking. Hanley's "replacement" (left-hand hitting Mitch Moreland) started out well, but has hit just .247 over his last 30 games and .238 in his last seven. For what it's worth, Hanley hit .333 this year against left-handed pitching—with one HR and 10 RBIs over 42 at-bats. If Alex Cora had the flexibility of inserting Hanley against lefties, would it have made a difference in the outcomes of any games? It's hard to say. But, of course, we will never know. Interestingly, no other MLB team has claimed Hanley—in almost a month of availability—even though he can be had for the veteran minimum.