Boston Red Sox turn the page on disastrous 2014 acquisitions

The Boston Red Sox thought their future was set after their moves in free agency in 2014. Instead, those moves were a disaster.

The 2014-15 offseason was an interesting one for the Boston Red Sox. They had signed Rusney Castillo, one of the top Cuban players, in the hopes that he would be a long term answer in the outfield. Hanley Ramirez was brought back as a free agent, with the idea that he would play left, despite having zero professional experience in the outfield. Pablo Sandoval was brought in with the idea that he would take over at third, giving the Red Sox an offensive threat that they needed.

Overall, those signings cost the Red Sox a total of $255.5 million. In exchange for those contracts, the Red Sox received a grand total of -0.1 WAR, per Fangraphs. That number is actually skewed by Ramirez managing to produce a 3.0 fWAR in 2016. This total also does not include the large chunk of cash paid to Allen Craig, who was kicked off the Red Sox 40 man roster in 2016, never to return to the majors.

With Sandoval and Allen having been jettisoned, and Castillo banished to the minors, Ramirez had been the final holdover from that ill-fated expenditure to be on the major league roster. Now that he has been designated for assignment, the Red Sox can turn the page on that disastrous spate of acquisitions.

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Although the decision to designate Ramirez for assignment came as a surprise, the writing was on the wall. He had been hitless in his last 21 at bats, and had produced a horrendous .163/.200/.300 batting line with only five extra base hits. With Mitch Moreland producing surperior numbers, both offensively and defensively, and the return of Dustin Pedrioa, it was time for Ramirez to be sent on his way.

This also marks the final nail in the coffin for that offseason. The Red Sox were determined to make a splash, with Sandoval and Ramirez being the centerpieces of their moves. However, even when those moves were made, there were questions as to how they would fit in, especially with David Ortiz on the roster.

As it turned out, neither Sandoval nor Ramirez were the answer. Kung Fu Panda looked like he ate a panda, and never got into a non spherical shape. The Great Left Field Experiment lasted for 92 games, before the Red Sox realized that even the frozen corpse of Ted Williams would be a better outfielder than Ramirez. However, he had not exactly been Keith Hernandez at first either, especially compared to Moreland.

Next: How the Red Sox can keep Swihart

The Boston Red Sox have finally turned the page on the disastrous moves of 2014. But hey, what’s $255.5 million, after all?