News broke Friday afternoon that former MLB player Hanley Ramirez may be connected to both ongoing federal and state investigations.
Ramirez’s connection to the investigation was first broke by Boston-based investigative journalist Michele McPhee. McPhee, one of the first reporters to break the Aaron Hernandez story five years ago, sent out an ominous tweet regarding Ramirez.
#HanleyRamirez, former @RedSox infielder, has some.. well, issues. Being eyed in connection with an ongoing federal and state investigation. Stay tuned.
— Michele McPhee (@MicheleMcPhee) June 22, 2018
Upon further explanation, it seems that Ramirez’s involvement in the case stems from a contact of his being stopped by police in Lawrence, MA, with a significant amount of drugs. The suspect claimed that one of the items in the vehicle belonged to Ramirez and went on to FaceTime the 34-year-old former first baseman in front of authorities.
The Red Sox cut Ramirez on May 25th. Since the news has broken, the organization has made it a point to explain that the move was strictly baseball-related.
Kevin Gregg, the Boston Red Sox vice president of media relations, said yesterday, “The Red Sox are unaware of any investigation involving Hanley Ramirez.”
Meanwhile, Ramirez’s agent, Adam Katz, spoke to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, “Hanley has no knowledge of any of the allegations contained in this media report and he is not aware of any investigation.”
Members of the Boston media are saying differently. One radio host explained on Twitter that he first heard the Ramirez rumors on May 29th, just four days after the Red Sox made the roster move.
I just went back through my text messages and can say that the first Hanley rumor I heard was on 5/29. I’m sure I was one of many people being told that info. Nobody should believe the #RedSox saying they were unaware of any off-the-field issues when he was DFA’d. https://t.co/KKPEFWscw3
— Marc Bertrand (@Marc_Bertrand) June 22, 2018
It would make sense that this rumor has been out there for a while. While a talented Red Sox team cut Ramirez, there’s certainly room out there for the first basemen on another MLB roster. Up until Friday, it was surprising that Ramirez had still not found a job.
It may not be as surprising anymore.
Connor Donahue is the digital editor for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at connor.f.donahue@uconn.edu. He tweets @conn_donahue.
