Hanley Ramirez is now officially a free agent and while the Red Sox owe him more than $15 million, any MLB team can sign him for the prorated major-league minimum.
The Red Sox did get out paying the $22 million he would have been owed in 2019 if he had reached 475 plate appearances for Boston this season, but as Dave Dombrowski said last Friday when Hanley was designated for assignment, this was a “baseball decision.”
Ramirez, 34, was hitting .254 with six homers and 29 RBI but had slumped in May (.163) and was 0-for-his-last-21 with the Red Sox. He does, however, bring a .380 career playoff batting average (.571 last year) to any potential contenders.