The Red Sox have designated Hanley Ramírez for assignment to clear room on the major league roster for the Dustin Pedroia‘s return from the disabled list. Boston now has seven days to either trade of release Ramírez.
Ramírez, who was originally signed as a 16-year-old international free agent out of the Dominican Republic by the Red Sox in 2000, made his major league debut with the club in 2005. He appeared in just two games for Boston before being traded to the Marlins in a deal that yielded Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell. At Florida, Ramírez was 2006 Rookie of the Year and a three-time All-Star.
Since his return to Boston in 2015 in a four-year, $88 million deal, Ramírez has appeared in 429 games. Overall, he’s slashed .260 AVG/.326 OBP/.450 SLG with 78 home runs and 255 RBI with the Red Sox.
Ramírez is one of seven active major league players with 1,000+ runs and 250+ home runs.
At the time of his DFA Ramírez was 302 plate appearances from vesting an option that would have guaranteed him $22 million for 2019. Now, if the Sox release Ramírez, the option disappears; if he’s traded, his new club would be responsible for honoring the option unless they negotiate an alternative.
The Red Sox owe Ramírez $15 million for the remainder of this season. Altogether now, as USA Today’s Bob Nightengale notes on Twitter, the Sox are now responsible for $35 million to players no longer with the club, including Pablo Sandoval, Adrian Gonzalez, and Allen Craig.