With all the youth and inexperience around the Indians this spring, Hanley Ramirez finds himself a bit of an odd man out. There’s a youth movement in Cleveland, and a 35-year-old bat-only player would be right to feel out of place among all these young athletes with something to prove. Ramirez has proven a lot in his career — he won a Rookie of the Year, a batting title, and came in as high as second place in MVP voting. He’s been great.
That “been” is the key, though. The last two seasons, Ramirez has been... horrible, at least by his own lofty standards.