Indians Sign Hanley Ramirez

The Cleveland Indians have not made many moves to strengthen their team since the end of the 2018 season. They have the advantage of playing in the American League Central division. This is by far the weakest division in baseball. The Indians won it easily last year. Perhaps the management of the Indians believes that they will have no problem making the playoffs again this season. Most of the talk for Cleveland has been about trading one of their great starting pitchers. However, that has not happened as of yet. The Indians finally made one noteworthy signing. They came to terms with former All-Star Hanley Ramirez on a minor league contract.

Hanley Ramirez was one of the most feared hitters in baseball for many years. He was originally drafted by the Boston Red Sox. However, he was traded to the Florida Marlins before he played a single game for Boston. He put up massive numbers for the Marlins. He was later traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers and signed a big free agent contract with the Red Sox. However, his career started on a downward spiral in 2018. His production started to drop and the Red Sox decided that they did not want him anymore. They finally decided to release him during the 2018 season. No other team picked him up. He sat out the rest of the season.

The Indians have decided to take a chance on the former star player reports letsgotribe.com. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain by signing Ramirez. The minor league contract they just gave him does not pay much money at all. Therefore, the financial risk is minimal. They can just release him if he does not pan out. The possible rewards are definitely worth the small amount of money they have agreed to pay him.

It remains to be seen if Hanley Ramirez can still hit at the major league level. His bat appeared to be slower last year with the Red Sox. This was one of the main reasons why his numbers were so poor. In many cases, players lose the ability to hit very quickly. Their hitting skills erode in the blink of an eye. The Indians are hoping that is not the case with Ramirez. They are rolling the dice and hoping that he has something left in the tank. It is not clear if Ramirez will start the season in the majors.