The JD Martinez shook the core of a lot of Red Sox fans, including myself. New manager Alex Cora has a dangerous lineup to play with and has already given his insight into a potential Red Sox offense. Cora has already said that Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi will hold the one and two spot in the order. With Martinez now in the fold, Cora has now foreshadowed who will be in the middle of the order for Boston.
Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston had the following from Cora:
Alex Cora on at bats if the Red Sox were to hypothetically add a bat hypothetically named JD Martinez pic.twitter.com/6IemLthomC
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) February 20, 2018
Alex Cora said Hanley Ramirez is his No. 3 hitter right now
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) February 20, 2018
Mitch Moreland and Hanley Ramirez both threw their weight behind JD Martinez signing. Hanley has worked out with him. Martinez's arrival likely to affect playing time for others.
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) February 20, 2018
My biggest fear has been answered. Hanley Ramirez’s playing time will not be affected. Hanley has already said he plans on playing 150 games at first base. Whether that’s feasible or not remains to be seen. Moreland will be the primary first baseman if Hanley needs a breather. Like the Astros last year, giving guys a day off their feet is always a plus. With the wall in left, there’s always the possibility Martinez will play a fair amount of left field when the trio of outfielders needs a day.
This Red Sox team has really nice depth after the Martinez signing. Eduardo Nunez might be the best utility man in baseball. Brock Holt and Bryce Brentz are also good bench pieces. The positive news of all of this is that Hanley Ramirez is on the Tom Brady diet and is financially motivated to put up a big year considering he has a $22 million vesting option in 2019. Hanley needs 497 at-bats this year for that option to vest. Considering Hanley has worked out with Martinez, it’s clear that Hanley is motivated to stick at first base.
Hanley, 34, hit just .242 a year ago but essentially played the whole year with one arm. With Hanley healthy, this Red Sox team is all of the sudden extremely underrated.
