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There's been a
lot of discussion about whether or not
Hanley Ramirez can handle first base for the Red Sox in 2016. There are basically two camps: 1.) Hey, he's an infielder by trade, he'll take to it like a fish (Marlin?) to water; and 2.) Are you kidding, he'll be an unmitigated disaster?!! Basically, there's no middle ground. Add to this the very real likelihood that Ramirez won't come anywhere
near playing a full season. Why do we say that? Let's look at his last five seasons—over which Hanley has
averaged 114 games played.
That's 48 games short of a full load. Why would we think he'll improve in 2016 at the age of 32?
Travis Shaw,
Brock Holt and even
Blake Swihart can probably fill in the gaps at 1B—but is this any way to run a 'championship-driven' team? We still feel the best option is to trade away Ramirez for 10 cents on the dollar and sign
Chris Davis.
Then, we're talking contention.
