Ramon A. Ramirez Outrighted To Minors By Red Sox

Well, this is confusing.

The Red Sox have two right-handed relievers named Ramon Ramirez. The one you’ve likely never heard of (who used to pitch for the Reds) has been outrighted to the minors.

Ramirez, 27, has a career 2.97 ERA in 39 1/3 innings, all with the Reds. He made four starts and one relief appearance in 2008 and eleven relief appearances in 2009.

Ramirez’s 2.97 ERA is largely the product of luck, as his career .196 BABIP and 4.60 FIP attest, but he could still be a solid middle reliever or spot starter.

The righty also posted a 4.03 ERA in Triple-A last year.

Ramirez is known for his plus changeup in the 80-84 mph range. Its movement can rival that of almost any changeup in baseball.

He’s struggled, however, to find another good pitch. His fastball is unimpressive, coming in at 87-92 mph with very little movement, and his slider is below average.

Ramirez will head to the minors to keep working on the slider and fastball to set up the changeup, which he throws over a third of the time.