Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval to the Red Sox: Six Additional Questions

Fenway Park ought to consider temporarily changing its named to Flavortown, USA for the next week or so after the Red Sox braintrust made a pair of bold moves to bolster the Boston lineup following a last-place finish in 2014. Hanley Ramirez, who began his career with the Red Sox, is reportedly back for four years, $88 million. That is all but a done deal. Pablo Sandoval may or may not be following him with a reported deal worth $100+ million over five, but the status of that deal on Monday morning seems to change about as often as the weather in New England. Jon Heyman continues to write that the deal is “close” however it’s not yet “official.”

For the premise of this post, let’s work under the assumption the Sandoval deal gets done. If so, the Red Sox deal(s) create almost as many questions as answers ahead of Thanskgiving.

Question No. 1: Where does Ramirez play?

Metrics, the eye test, whatever tool you want to use, Ramirez is a subpar defensive shortstop. Boston already has highly-touted 22-year-old Xander Bogaerts at short (who only hit .266 in 2014). Assuming Sandoval is signed Ramirez can’t play third, either, meaning a move to the outfield is most-likely. Boston, of course, still has a logjam in the outfield with Yoenis Cespedes, Rusney Castillo, Shane Victorino, Daniel Nava, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts. A move to the outfield could take some wear-and-tear off Ramirez who’s only played in 214 games over the last two seasons.

Someone is going to be traded. Cespedes is the most-likely candidate across the Internet on Monday morning since he’s a free agent in 2016, but don’t rule out Bogaerts, either. Boston could get a lot for Bogaerts — almost entirely on his potential. In this equation the Red Sox bite the bullet on Ramirez’s often infuriating defense and are content with his career .300/.373/.500 slash line. Boston also has Deven Marrero at Triple A and perhaps see him as an option at short.

There’s also the strong possibility Sandoval becomes Boston’s full-time DH after David Ortiz’s contract is up next season, allowing Ramirez to move to third base in 2016. It’d be a shame if Sandoval is relegated to DH since his barehanded plays at third during the postseason were a joy to watch. Either way the Red Sox will have to figure out what they’re doing with Will Middlebrooks.

However it shakes out, the Red Sox are signing Ramirez for his bat and they’ll make room for him somewhere on the diamond, hoping he returns to his 2013 form when he posted a 1.040 OPS in 86 games. The initial reports Sunday slated Ramirez for a team-friendly 5 years/$90 million, but the four-year deal with the vesting option averaging $22 million per season is about in line with what you’d expect for a player of his status.

Question No. 2: Are the Red Sox done spending?

Probably not. Here’s your Red Sox starting pitching depth chart as of this morning: Clay Buchholz, Joe Kelly, Rubby De La Rosa, Allen Webster, Anthony Ranaudo, Brandon Workman. Conventional online baseball wisdom says Boston will follow-up these moves by going all-in to sign lefty Jon Lester (and if not him, perhaps Max Scherzer or James Shields). The Lester connection makes the most sense given he spent his entire career with Boston until this July in the Cesepedes deal. Trading for a starting pitcher wouldn’t be out of the question, either.

Playing Devil’s Advocate: Who says no here, what if the Red Sox offer Cespedes or Bogaerts or some sort of package to the Tigers for impending free agent David Price or Rick Porcello? Boston probably wouldn’t have to give up as much to pry Cole Hamels away from the rebuilding Phillies given the southpaw’s high salary, but could get him if they make the effort. Dangling Cespedes to the Mariners for Hisashi Iwakuma is a short-term deal that helps both sides.

The possibility the Red Sox land Lester and another pitcher via a trade is clearly in play. Right now the Sox payroll commitment is around $115 million, so even with Sandoval and Ramirez there might be a little wiggle room to add more.

Question No. 3: Are the Red Sox the now favorites in the American League East?

Not necessarily, until we see that pitching situation sorted out. Baltimore won 96 games in 2014 — 21 better than the Red Sox. Ramirez and Sandoval help close that gap, but not entirely because of the starting pitching situation. Granted the Orioles still have to re-sign Nelson Cruz. Toronto signed Russell Martin last week — clear intent the club is “going for it,” but that goodwill didn’t even last a week until the Red Sox’s potential double windfall.

Much more certain is without the braintrust of Andrew Friedman and Joe Maddon, the Rays appear on the verge of slipping back into the cellar for an extended period. A greatly diminished Tampa team does make the path back toward the top much easier for Boston.

Question No. 4: What does this mean for the Yankees?

Can we answer a question with a question? Are the Yanks going to sit back idly and watch their biggest rival soak up headlines and coveted-free agents? Could the Yankees come in and steal Lester to spite their rivals? Would they open up the wallet for Scherzer?

The Yankees no longer have Derek Jeter or Mariano Rivera or anything to overshadow their current mediocre status, but they do have Alex Rodriguez. Money talks, so Brian Cashman could make a big move if he wants to do so, but after tying up so much money in Jacoby Ellsbury, Masahiro Tanaka and Brian McCann last winter will he want to do so? You don’t win championships with headlines in November or December, but will the Yankees be able to resist?

Question No. 5: Will this end up as a repeat of 2011 for the Red Sox?

Before the 2011 season the Red Sox splurged and signed Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, which as Craig Calcaterra of Hard Ball Talk notes, were seven-year deals worth close to $300 million combined. The Red Sox won 90 games that season but missed out on the playoffs on that Evan Longoria walk-off homer in the final game of the season and then the team fired Terry Francona in the wake of the “chicken and beer” stories that began to circulate about a dysfunctional clubhouse. The Red Sox somehow made the situation worse, hiring Bobby Valentine and winning 69 games in 2012. The next year they won the World Series, so go figure.

Given that John Farrell is entrenched as the Boston manager and the clubhouse isn’t toxic, history repeating itself is unlikely.

Expectations and the Red Sox have proved tricky for Hot Stove prognosticators. The 2011/12 team had high hopes and flamed out, whereas no one expected much in 2013 and the Sox won the World Series. Predicting where the team finishes in the wake of these signings three days before Thanksgiving is nothing more than a blind guess. A lineup featuring Dustin Pedroia, Ramirez, Ortiz, Sandoval, Castillo, Mike Napoli, Victorino and maybe Cespedes is a Wild Card contender at the absolute minimum.

Question No. 6: Can Sandoval pretend its the postseason for the duration of his contract?

The disparity between Sandoval’s regular season (.294/.346/.465, 869 games) and postseason numbers (.344/.389/.545, 39 games) is worth noting. In the regular season Sandoval is an All Star-level player, while in October he’s a Hall of Famer. Boston will likely split the difference, although Sandoval’s OPS has trended downward each year since his career-best .909 in 2011.

[Photos via Getty]