Dodgers News: Team Considered Moving Hanley Ramirez To Left field
The error was Ramirez’s 10th this season in 65 games; coming off a year where he committed 13 in 76 games. Ramirez is in the final year of his contract and there’s been talk of an eventual move to third base, which Ramirez said in March would be a move he’s open to.
A move to third base this season isn’t likely with Juan Uribe entrenched at the position and playing well. Uribe is also under contract next year, when he’s due $6.5 million. According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, some within the Dodgers organization considered moving Ramirez to left field:
Some Dodgers officials have toyed with the idea of playing Ramirez in left field.
Moving Ramirez to left would allow for Erisbel Arruebarrena, who is considered to have a strong glove, to play short. However, it would also add to the logjam in the outfield and that’s not taking into account Ramirez has never played a Major League game in the outfield.
As ESPN’s Buster Olney noted, while the Dodgers have talent littered throughout their roster, they aren’t assembled in the best manner. With Ramirez likely to remain at shortstop this season, the Dodgers face plenty of decisions moving forward.
First, they must decide how to handle Ramirez’s contract situation. He proved every bit valuable during their historic run last season, but hasn’t resembled the same player in 2014. Then there’s the pressure to call up outfielder Joc Pederson from Triple-A, whom many have argued is ready to make the jump to the big leagues.
ESPN’s Jayson Stark reported teams have told him the Dodgers are shopping their outfielders not named Yasiel Puig, which may alleviate the headache in the outfield, but doesn’t answer what to do with Ramirez.
Defensively speaking, Ramirez is considered a liability in the middle of the infield, but if he’s able to recapture his magic at the plate, it will be a factor the Dodgers can continue to overlook.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dodgers Outfielder Andre Ethier Surprises Middle School Students
