Hanley Ramirez is back in pro baseball.
Ramirez has signed a minor-league deal with the Cleveland Indians, as first reported by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
Ramirez has not played in MLB since being released by the Boston Red Sox after being designated for assignment in late May. He batted .254 with a .708 OPS in 44 games.
Ramirez’s release came as a huge surprise, and he was dogged by a report that he was part of a federal drug investigation. The report turned out to be unfounded.
Ramirez, 35, is a career .290 hitter with an .848 career OPS. Signing a minor-league deal shows just how badly Ramirez wants to get back into MLB. Limited mostly to being a DH now, Ramirez would likely be competing with Carlos Santana and Jake Bauers for playing time on the Indians.
