What If? With Mad Matt: Yankees Sign Hanley Ramirez

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past year the Yankees’ shortstop for the past 20 years, Derek Jeter, has retired. The mushy love story is over, the six month Jeter Fest has ended and now it’s come back to business. The Yankees need a shortstop for 2015 and the one they have under contract now, Brendan Ryan, isn’t good enough. Luckily there are a few very solid options available in Asdrubal Cabrera, Jed Lowrie, Jung-ho Kang (Korea) and even Stephen Drew. But of all the names linked to the Yankees’ as Jeter’s replacement none are more interesting or are such an enigma as Hanley Ramirez. In this week’s “What if?” I’ll explore the fallout on a possible move for the star shortstop.

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Predicted Contract: 5 years $100 million dollars

What To Like: Offense

When it comes to Hanley Ramirez there’s a lot you should like. But what stands out most for the 30-year old infielder is his offensive ability. Six times in his 9 full seasons he’s hit 20 or more home runs and he’s never failed to hit double digits in that category. He consistently drives in 70 or more runs and owns a career .300 batting average.

Those numbers were compiled with the Dodgers and Marlins, both play in very large stadiums. Now, put him in the hitter friendly confines of Yankee Stadium and the rest of the American League East stadiums and… well, the word “wow” seems appropriate. In the Yankees lineup Ramirez would bat third in the order and be a true run producer with Ellsbury and Gardner in front of him as the table setters and guys like Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira betting behind him.  A very nice piece to any team.

What To Worry About: Defense/Health

Defense? What defense? Hanley isn’t exactly Ozzie Smith at shortstop and in a few years (or sooner) third base may be calling his name. While I’ll give him credit for actually showing improvement defensively in recent years (He committed a total 72 errors between 2006 and 2008) he still made 16 errors in 2014. He famously made a throwing error which allowed the first and only runner to reach base in Clayton Kershaw’s no hitter against the Colorado Rockies.

To be fair, and I know I’m going to get some heat for this, Derek Jeter had not been too good on defensive himself in recent years. But Ramirez’s defensive trouble could quickly change from “Eh, well that’s just what he does” into “OH! COME ON! YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS!” Sounds a lot like our old friend Eduardo Nunez doesn’t it. You want to sign Hanley then you’re going to have to deal with it. In today’s game (The Moneyball Era) defense isn’t always considered a top priority. But, it’s the Yankees that will have to decide whether they can live with his sup par defensive skills.

As for health it’s not too good. Since 2011 he’s played in more than 130 games just once back in 2012. In 2013 he played just 86 games and last season he was held to just 128 games. He seems to be prone to getting hit by pitches and injuring himself in unusual ways. The Yankees have displayed the willingness to sign players with injury risk (i.e. Jacoby Ellsbury) but is this pushing the envelope a little bit? If he can stay healthy for 140 to 150 games you could live with his defense and enjoy his big bat in the lineup. Will he be able to do that? That remains to be seen and the Yankees will have to decide if they can afford to take that risk.

Burn the Red Sox:

I’ll make this part quick because it’s just for fun. Few people remember that Hanley Ramirez is a product of the Boston Red Sox organization. He played just two games with Boston near the end of the 2005 season when he was 21. In 2006 the Sox traded him to the Marlins along with Anibal Sanchez in exchange for Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota. In his rookie season with the Marlins he took home the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Since then, the Red Sox have struggled to find stability at shortstop until right now with the young Xander Bogaerts.

While the Red Sox have had great success without Hanley it’d still be interesting to see him come to bat against his only club while wearing pinstripes. He turned into a star player while Beckett fell short near the end of his Sox tenure. Lowell has since moved on from baseball and Mota never played for the Red Sox. It may be a small connection nonetheless. Hanley in the Bronx would add another level to professional sports greatest rivalry.

Final Thoughts:

I don’t know what to make of this possible deal. One one hand you get a star and a middle of the order bat in Hanley. Right handed power like his just isn’t abundant these days. But can you take a risk on his defense and injury history? Can the Yankees afford to take such a risk? That’s up to them to decide and it’s an interesting story line going forward.