Red Sox manager ‘surprised’ by Hanley Ramirez investigation rumors

Alex Cora is just as taken aback by the recent rumors surrounding Hanley Ramirez as the rest of us are.

Addressing reporters on Friday, the Boston Red Sox manager said that he was “surprised” by allegations that the ex-Sox slugger was under federal and state investigation, per Chris Cotillo of MLB.com. Cora also said that he hoped the rumors were not true and reiterated that the team had no prior knowledge.

News broke earlier in the day on Friday that the three-time All-Star Ramirez, who was released by Boston last month, was reportedly being investigated over a drug-related incident that coincided with the timing of his Red Sox release (full details here). Both Ramirez and the Red Sox have since put out statements denying any knowledge of an investigation, with the latter emphasizing that Ramirez was released for “baseball reasons.”

Ramirez, 34, had been playing decently for Boston at the time of his release, which came as a surprise to many. As for Cora, his position is noteworthy since the decision to DFA Ramirez in the first place was supposedly his call.