Following reports during the late afternoon that the Red Sox were closing in on a deal with Hanley Ramirez. That deal is close to being finalized according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. According to tweets from Rosenthal, Ramirez is heading to Boston on Monday to finalize a deal that will pay the 30-year-old $90 million over the course of five years.
This may be the first move in a series of dominos for the Red Sox. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported earlier today that the Red Sox were interested in signing Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval and Jon Lester. According to a league source, the Red Sox interest in trying sign both Sandoval and Ramirez was legitimate.
The Red Sox currently have an offer out to Sandoval in the range of five years and $95 million according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. While numerous reports suggested that Sandoval was leaning towards Boston early in the weekend, the Red Sox now have a third baseman should Sandoval choose San Francisco or San Diego over Boston.
Enrique Rojas of ESPN reported earlier Sunday evening that Ramirez was willing to move off of shortstop, citing first base, third base, left field and right field as potential position for the 2006 National League Rookie of the Year. Ramirez is a career .300/.373/.500 hitter and spent the last two and a half season manning shortstop and third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In recent years, Ramirez has struggled to stay healthy, playing 86 and 128 games in 2013 and 2014 respectively.