Baltimore Orioles need to walk away from Hanley Ramirez
By David Hill
The Baltimore Orioles are considering signing Hanley Ramire. It’s time to put down the phone and walk away from the table.
It is understandable that the Baltimore Orioles would look to upgrade their roster any way possible. At 17-40 heading into Saturday’s action, they possess the worst record in baseball. Their offense has been outright offensive this season, ranking dead last in runs, on base percentage, and slugging; while sitting in the bottom five in every category outside of home runs. Just imagine what this lineup would look like without Manny Machado.
With that being the case, the Orioles are scouring the waiver wire for anything that could help. This includes former All Star Hanley Ramirez, who was cut loose from the Red Sox earlier this week. According to Ken Rosenthal, the Orioles have discussed the possibility of bringing in Ramirez, although their interest level is not known.
#Orioles have explored possibility of signing Hanley Ramirez, sources tell The Athletic. Level of interest unclear. Also unclear: How Hanley would fit on roster with C. Davis, Trumbo and Alvarez. Duquette signed Hanley originally for #RedSox.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) June 2, 2018
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As Rosenthal points out, it is difficult to see how Ramirez would fit on the roster. As a first baseman/DH at this point in his career, he would join a roster that already has three such players in Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo, and Pedro Alvarez. At least Trumbo can play a bit in the outfield, with seven games in right this season.
However, aside from Trumbo, the Orioles are getting limited production from that group. Davis has an atrocious .152/.234/.239 batting line, with just eight extra base hits and 73 strikeouts in 2007 plate appearances. Alvarez has managed to post a 102 OPS+, but his .188/.299/.446 batting line leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, the majority of his value has come from his eight homers in just 117 plate appearances this year.
In theory, Ramirez would be an upgrade. He had produced a .254/.313/.395 batting line with six homers prior to being released. However, the majority of that production came in April, as he had just a .163/.200/.300 batting line during the month of May. That performance is not much better than how Davis has played this season. Unless the Orioles are willing to eat the over $100 million due to Davis, or jettison Pedro Alvarez, there just is not a fit on the roster.
The Baltimore Orioles reportedly have interest in bringing in Hanley Ramirez. Someone take the phone from Dan Duquette, get him some fresh air, and a chance to rethink that idea.