It's been a rough week for James Ramsey.
The Los Angeles Dodgers' prospect started in the left field for the Oklahoma City Triple-A affiliate on Wednesday, but by Thursday he was demoted to their Double-A affiliate, the Tulsa Drillers, before he was finally traded to the Seattle Mariners on Friday for cash considerations.
In a simple twist of irony, the Dodgers originally acquired Ramsey in the exact same way, for cash considerations from the Cleveland Indians on April 10, 2016.
Ramsey batted .264 with eight home runs and 38 RBI in 83 games for the Dodgers before being traded. This is the third time this season that the Dodgers have jettisoned a player to the Mariners farm system. Former Drillers third baseman, Adam Law, was sent to the Jackson Generals of the Southern League in July 1, and starting pitcher Zach Lee was traded to the Mariners on June 19 in exchange for infielder Chris Taylor.
Ramsey is used to being traded. Just two years after being selected in the first round by the St. Louis Cardinals, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for starting pitcher Justin Masterson after appearing in the 2014 All-Star Futures Game in Minnesota. He never reached the big leagues with the Indians but won the International League championship with the Columbus Clippers in 2015.
After spring training, he and super utility man Zach Walters were traded to the Dodgers for cash considerations. Being traded somewhere with a teammate and friend made the transition much smoother.
“Zach and I have played in a couple different teams together,” Ramsey said. “It's good to have some consistency with a guy that you can trust and a guy that you can go to for on-the-field, off-the-field stuff.”
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Ramsey comes from an athletic family. His father played baseball at Florida State and his mother played tennis there. His uncle played tennis at the University of Miami so there is a little rivalry within the family.
With that heritage there, it's no wonder why Ramsey chose Florida State as his college home. He finished his collegiate career by leading the Seminoles to the College World Series in 2012.
Ramsey started his professional career at Single-A Palm Beach in the Florida State League. He shared a three bedroom apartment with three other teammates just walking distance from Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. According to Ramsey, his biggest adjustment there was transitioning from a collegiate baseball player to a full-time professional.
“Taking care of your body everyday,” Ramsey said, “making sure that it's ready to play seven days a week, six months straight. I think it's definitely the challenging part just to know when to push and to know when to pull back a little bit. For me that was the toughest part.”
In the offseason, Ramsey would go to the Dominican Republic on mission trips to help out with Fellowship Christian Athletes. One of his old coaches and pastors ran baseball camps there and he would assist as a counselor and share his testimony.
“It's life-changing,” Ramsey said. “It's a good perspective builder. It allows you to be more grateful for what you have back at the states, just to continue to give back to others and always have the less fortunate in mind.”
Ramsey said he plans to continue his offseason work with FCA and also get married after this season. Ramsey was once a candidate for the Rhodes Scholar while at Florida State and could see himself either doing speaking engagements or go into business once his baseball career is over.
