Hanley Ramirez Might Not Get Time At First Base For Boston Red Sox This Season

The Boston Red Sox finally ended the great experiment of trying Hanley Ramirez in left field. Although he got a little better as the season went on, the general conclusion is that Ramirez absolutely needed to no longer be in the outfield and he has since been moved to first base. The issue that I am having is that we have yet to see him at first base in game action.

Ramirez has been on the disabled list now for more than a few weeks because of shoulder fatigue. Lately, he has been taking batting practice and working out at first base. It seems as though he is about as ready as he is going to be at this point. It’s not like putting him in there is going to hurt any postseason chances. Boston has nothing to lose at this point by playing him.

One concern is that if you don’t see what he looks like at first this season, you are waiting until next year. At that point, Boston is in the same situation again that they were this season where they are wondering if Ramirez can get acclimated to another position. Do we really want to go through another season of that?

If they are not playing Ramirez because they want to trade him, it’s no secret that every other team knows that he is horrible at defense. Boston might as well see if he can play a little first base and if he can and there is a market for him, trade him while his value is a little higher.

I hope that he can play first. Having that healthy bat in the lineup behind David Ortiz could be devastating for opposing pitchers next season.

Carter Roane is a Boston Red Sox writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter@CarterGRoane, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.