Boston Red Sox to Use Hanley Ramirez at First Base
By Nick Fustor
Boston Red Sox slugger Hanley Ramirez will make his season debut at first base this week against the Milwaukee Brewers, per several reports.
Since joining the Boston Red Sox as a left fielder in 2015, Hanley Ramirez’s defense has been the most questionable aspect of his game. Upon his move to first base in 2016, Ramirez was able to focus more in hitting – but his fielding remained an issue.
After suffering a shoulder strain in spring training, manager John Farrell decided it would be best to use Ramirez solely as a designated hitter. Until interleague play, that is.
Before the season began, Farrell intended to use Ramirez at first against left-handers and have a different designated hitter while Mitch Moreland sat on the bench. The Boston Red Sox are heading to Milwaukee to face the Brewers in a three-game series, and Ramirez is set to see time at first.
"“I haven’t mapped it out in all three [games], but he’ll be at first base,” Farrell told reporters. “And I can see us in a situation where we can be mixing and matching out there. If Hanley starts a game where Mitch [Moreland] picks him up defensively later on, that’s certainly a possibility. All those combinations are available to us.”"
With Moreland’s hot start – he had a .344 average with 11 doubles through his first 16 games – there wasn’t much thought to putting his bat on the bench. But Moreland is now 9-for-48 in his last 11 games, and Scott Lauber of ESPN.com noted that Moreland could benefit from a day off.
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Farrell is hoping to get back to the original plan to use Ramirez at first against lefties after the Milwaukee series. The Sox will face Tampa Bay and left-hander Blake Snell this weekend.
"“Mitch has done a great job,” Farrell told reporters. “This is his first real opportunity of playing every day, and he’s done just that, played every day. But I think it’s important we’re able to pick spots to keep him as fresh as possible. That’s been our goal since we reported to spring training [to have Ramirez play first base], and yet we’re still trying to get there.”"
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Boston will also head to St. Louis next week, so Ramirez’s ability in the field will be tested.