Hanley Ramirez Declines Dodgers Qualifying Offer
- Updated: November 10, 2014
Today is the seventh day since the Dodgers revealed their qualifying offer to shortstop Hanley Ramirez. The qualifying offer, if accepted, would’ve paid Hanley 15.3 million to stay with the Dodgers for another year.
Today, it was announced that the superstar shortstop declined the offer, which didn’t take people by surprise as Hanley is most likely to pursue a long-term contract.
Have we seen Hanley’s last days in Dodger blue? Most likely.
After Hanley declined the standing offer, other teams have quickly jumped into talks with Ramirez.
Bob Nightingale of USA Sports stated, ” Mariners are aggressively pursuing him.”
With Hanley’s struggles with staying healthy and defensive abilities, the Mariners would be a good fit considering their DH spot, where Hanley would most likely switch over to.
While the Dodgers most likely will be parting ways with Hanley, there have been talks about them now pursuing Alexei Ramirez. Alexei has a current contract which goes into 2015, with an option for 2016. He’s a gold-glover. He had 15 dingers and 74 RBIs which shows he is more than just a glove. While it’s not as strong as Hanley’s bat, it’s productive and he’s more likely to stay healthy as he is only 33 years old and played in 158 games in each of the past four seasons, while Hanley has missed over 100 games in just the last two years alone.
The biggest key to Alexei being a good fit for the Dodgers is not only that he’s affordable, but that his one year left on his contract would be perfect for setting the stage for Corey Seager. However, there is a downfall. The New York Yankees and Mets have also shown interest in Alexei as they too are looking to fill in the shortstop position. Also, moving Alexei would also leave the White Sox with the burden of also having to fill in their shortstop position which will possibly take Alexei completely off the table. In alternative, the Dodgers would have to give up someone valuable to receive him, but that wouldn’t be ideal unless they are getting rid of some of the outfielders such as Crawford and Ethier. This wouldn’t make very much sense as they haven’t played up to the worth of their contracts.
You gotta love the MLB offseason, it just began but already there’s rumors and moves flying left and right. Welcome to the ride! It’s going to be exciting and we look forward to keeping you in the loop!
Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things Los Angeles Dodgers and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, all the time!
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