There is always going to be a give-and-take with Hanley Ramirez.
The Boston Red Sox knew that. They elected to pursue his services anyway. For the price of $88 million over four years, the organization gambled it would have more reward than risk.
Over the first month of the season, the Red Sox were up. Ramirez was one of the American League's most productive hitters through his first 24 games. He was among the league leaders in slugging percentage (.609), OPS (.949), home runs—his 10 tied a franchise record for April—and RBI (22). Even though his defense in left field, a new position for him, was terrible, his bat made up for the defensive deficiencies.
But there were risks beyond the ugly defense. Ramirez has been one of the most potent, intimidating and toolsy hitters for the majority of his career, but starting in 2011, keeping him on the field has become a difficult task, as he's averaged 116 games a season from 2011-2014.
The Red Sox are about to fully understand that risk now that Ramirez sprained his left shoulder slamming into a left-field wall Monday night at Fenway Park. Ramirez was attempting to make a running catch against the Tampa Bay Rays, which he did, but the ball popped out of his glove as he collided with the wall in foul territory.
Ramirez is currently listed as day-to-day. The Red Sox are hoping he can avoid a trip to the disabled list, obviously.
"We're hopeful over the next couple days there's some improvement," manager John Farrell told reporters (h/t Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com). "There's no clear-cut DL at this point."
I promise, gonna try to be back as soon as I can
— Hanley Ramirez (@HanleyRamirez) May 5, 2015
The problem is Ramirez has had trouble ducking significant injuries since 2011. Starting with a lower back issue in that season that kept him out of 14 games, Ramirez has missed 163 games until this season. The most significant ailments were left shoulder surgery in 2011 (52 games missed), a torn thumb ligament in 2013 (24 games), a hamstring strain in 2013 (28 games) and an abdominal strain last season (14 games).
Ramirez also underwent left shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum after the 2007 season, but he did not miss any time because of it the following year. He missed another eight games in 2013 with a jammed left shoulder suffered by falling into the stands at Wrigley Field while chasing a foul ball.
This latest injury is worrisome, because it comes to a part of Ramirez's body that he has already had cut into twice and hurt before. While Monday's injury has nothing to do with the others, one has to wonder how much damage a twice-surgically repaired shoulder can withstand before it again becomes a debilitating problem.
"Based on the exams and the images tonight, I don't have anything that suggests there's a reoccurrence of an old injury," Farrell said during his postgame press conference. "I think over the coming days, we'll have a read on how he can recover and we're hopeful he won't miss significant time."
And as any hitter will tell you, including Ramirez's former teammate Matt Kemp, an injury to the lead shoulder can drain power. Ramirez's OPS from 2007 through 2010 was .925. From 2011, the year he had his second shoulder surgery, through 2012, Ramirez's OPS dropped to .742.
"Hanley told me it's not the same," Ramirez's former manager Don Mattingly said in 2013 while discussing a shoulder injury to Kemp's lead shoulder. "It takes a while [to feel normal]."
A shoulder strain, as the Red Sox diagnosed it, is not that significant. That is why they are hopeful Ramirez can return relatively soon, like within the week. But if it turns out to be something more serious, this is a devastating injury, much like all of Ramirez's long-term ones throughout this career.
He has undoubtedly been the team's best offensive player, and his presence in the cleanup spot is unmistakably important, because the Red Sox have a mostly mediocre offense—fifth in the AL in OBP (.326), 10th in slugging percentage (.381), eighth in OPS (.707) and sixth in homers (29).
As the numbers show, losing Ramirez would be a damaging blow. This is especially true when you take into account the team's rotation is last in the majors with a 5.73 ERA, and the Red Sox are 12-14 and in last place in the AL East.
"It's a tough one," Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts told reporters, (h/t Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com). "He's been one of our most productive hitters so far. Losing a big player like that would be tough. … I'm not sure we can fill in the same stuff that he can do."
This is what Ramirez brings. He is capable of being a dominant middle-of-the-order hitter when healthy. When he is not, he misses significant chunks of time, his absence crippling a lineup.
The Red Sox bought into all of him. Through the first month he was everything they asked for. Going forward, only his oft-injured left shoulder will say how often he can be in the lineup and how productive he can still be.
All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.
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