Terry Francona explains why he will not switch Jose Ramirez’s position
With the Cleveland Indians not getting a lot of production out of second base, there has been some talk of moving MVP candidate Jose Ramirez to the position to potentially accommodate a newcomer at third base.
That’s not going to happen, according to manager Terry Francona. The Indians don’t want to mess with success, or potentially put Ramirez at added risk of injury.
Francona, on concept of moving Jose Ramirez to second base: "I know it sounds good on paper and it even sounds good to me on paper. There's other things you have to think about other than just numbers."
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) August 26, 2018
A few reasons Francona gave for not doing it: 1. Ramirez hasn't worked out at 2B at all this season, 2. There's worry about heightened injury risk due to that, 3. He's having MVP caliber season.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) August 26, 2018
Cleveland’s current second baseman is Jason Kipnis, who is hitting .216 on the season and .188 in August. There was a time that Cleveland at least considered trading for a top player who would have likely required an infield shuffle, but that never came to pass and it appears that the moment has gone.
