Roger Arrieta
The Dodgers have until Monday morning to offer Hanley Ramirez a qualifying offer or he becomes a free agent. If they don’t extend an offer, they would not be entitled to a compensation draft pick, should he chose to sign elsewhere. I think the Dodgers should at least make the offer, and see what happens.
I felt the Dodgers really took off when they began the rotation of Ramirez, Rojas, and Arruebarrena, and I also believe Hanley’s defense improved at that point as well. Miguel Rojas is great defensively, but his bat is far below average. Arruebarrena has a gold glove caliber glove at shortstop, and I believe he is the shortstop of the future. This is why I feel, Hanley would benefit from at least one more year with the Dodgers. In 2014 Hanley hit .283 with 13 HR’s and 71 RBI in 128 games, and to many people this was believed to be a “down year.” Most teams would take that line at the shortstop position, in a heartbeat.
There is the belief that Ramirez should begin making the transition to playing third base, and might very well be a possibility in the future. However the Dodgers have another gold glove caliber third baseman in Juan Uribe, and a spark plug utility player in Justin Turner, who are both coming back next season.
Here is another reason Hanley should return for one more season. He will have the opportunity to prove to 29 other teams, as well as the Dodgers, that he can be an every day shortstop worth a big multi-year deal. He will have the opportunity to once again compete for a world championship next season if he stays in Los Angeles.
It has been made clear by the Dodgers front office they want to develop homegrown talent, so there can be a nucleus and consistency where they compete for a world championship year in and year out. At shortstop and third base there is a wave of players who are very close to making an impact at the major league level. Arruebarrena got his taste of the show last season, and in limited time, he showed his bat needed more seasoning. This is why I think the Dodgers shouldn’t rush him to be the starting shortstop. While there are a select few young players who get rushed to the big leagues and make an impact immediately, most need to spend time in the minors to learn certain things. When players are rushed to the majors the speed of the game may get the best of them, and they ultimately get sent down, thereby setting them back. By having Arruebarrena learn as a back up/spot starter, it will put less pressure on him, and will also help him get more familiar with the ins and outs of being a major league player.
Dee Gordon was rushed to the major leagues too fast, and he pretty much spent all of 2013 in the minor leagues, and was an afterthought. While I’m proud of Dee for his hard work and determination to get back(becoming an all star in the process), these bounce backs are often the exception and not the rule. The Dodgers have Corey Seager, Erisbel Arruebarrena, Alex Guerrero, and Miguel Rojas knocking on the door. After watching all of them, I think Arruebarrena is the best shortstop. He makes everything look easy, almost Omar Visquel-esqe. As the Dodgers continue to make pitching their strong point, they will need a gold glove caliber shortstop at the helm, but in the meantime, having Hanley there for another year, with an apprentice, would not hurt.
The Dodgers did win 94 games in 2014, and their pitching staff was sixth in ERA, so it’s not like Hanley’s defense cost them very much. His defense certainly wasn’t the reason they were eliminated in the playoffs. His offense did, however, prove to be very helpful. His bat makes the Dodgers line up that much deeper, and makes pitchers and opposing managers have to think about who they want to pitch to. If .283, 17HR, and 71RBI is a down year, I’d love to see Hanley come back and have another “down year,” especially with the core of players who figure to be batting around him: Puig, Gonzalez, Kemp. The Dodgers should make the offer to Hanley, if he accepts, great! They would get one more season of pretty good offense, with the potential of great offense, because he has that ability. When the situation calls for a late inning defensive replacement, or a person to give him a day off here and there, they have it. Best case scenario, he has another all star caliber season with the bat, and lands himself a huge contract somewhere. If he doesn’t accept, they get a sandwich pick in between the first and second rounds of the 2015 draft. That would help in the future as well. I hope “I SEE” Hanley in Dodger blue for at least one more season.
