Hanley Ramirez has a pretty big decision to make.
He'll either accept the $15.3 million qualifying offer the Los Angeles Dodgers extended to him Monday for the 2015 season, or leave Tinseltown to test the free agent market.
Sure, it’s a pay cut from the $16 million he made last season. But, my guess is, Ramirez will realize he’d be smart to take the guaranteed money on the table rather than play a game of Russian roulette with his career. If he declines the deal there will suitors but likely not at that price tag. Although, I hear there’s a team in New York that's in the market for a shortstop since theirs decided to retire after 20 years, and we know money has never been an object in Yankee town.
For the Dodgers the offer was a smart move. Frankly, they need him. Should Ramirez leave, the Dodgers two options to replace him, at least for now, would be Miguel Rojas (.181 AVG, 85 games in 2014) and Erisbel Arrubarrena (.191 AVG, 22 games in 2014). Option three would be 20-year-old Corey Seager who is the team’s top minor league prospect but is at least a year away from being big league ready.
Ramirez can still hit, when he’s on the field. Since coming to the Dodgers in 2012, the 30-year-old has hit .298 with 43 home runs and 172 RBIs and an .850 OPS.
But, he's also missed a combined 110 games the last two seasons, and as his health has declined so has his defense. According to FanGraphs advanced defensive metrics, of the 22 Major League shortstops who played at least 900 innings on defense in 2014 Ramirez ranked 21st overall. Looked at another way, in 919 ⅔ innings at short Ramirez had 15 errors. Alexi Ramirez of the Chicago White Sox also had 15, but he played in 458 more innings on defense than Ramirez. That’s the equivalent of nearly 51 more games.
If Ramirez decides to jump ship, the Dodgers would receive a draft pick from the team he eventually signs with. He’s got until November 10th to make up his mind.
