Despite tweaking his knee while knocking a base hit to left field in the eighth inning of the Boston Red Sox' 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday afternoon, left fielder Hanley Ramirez is expected to remain in the starting lineup as Boston heads to New York to challenge the A.L. East-leading Yankees for a three-game series starting Tuesday.
In the midst of an admirable 2-for-4 performance in which he smacked an RBI double and scored in the first inning, Ramirez felt a slight tinge in his knee while in the middle of his swinging motion, prompting manager John Farrell to send outfielder Alejandro De Aza into the game to pinch run after the three-time All-Star reached first.
Farrell said after the game, "He tweaked his knee on that previous swing to the base hit. He should be good to go for Tuesday, but yeah, it was a little bit of a zinger and just got him off his feet."
Ramirez missed Friday night's victory over the Rays with a shin ailment, forcing the team to react with caution when he complained about the knee tweak in Sunday's game. Signed for four years and $88 million by the Red Sox this past November, the 31-year old right-hander has witnessed his average drop from .345 in 2013 to just .266 in 2015.
After beginning 2015 with a power surge, becoming one of the American League's home run leaders by the end of the April with 10 home runs, Ramirez's slugging has cooled off over the course of the season, having knocked just nine more long balls in the last three months. His run-producing value has decreased since April as well, having driven in just 31 runs since the end of the first month of the season, in which he had 22 RBI's.
The aspect of Ramirez' performance in a Red Sox uniform that has truly drawn the ire of the Boston faithful is his showing in left field, however. Garnering the worst Ultimate Zone Rating (-14.5) and FanGraphs Defense statistic (-17.9) among left fielders in the Major Leagues, Ramirez has received criticism for a lack of hustle, a lack of interest, and his inability to grasp Fenway Park's Green Monster.
He attributed some of his tentativeness in left field to his desire to remain in the lineup every single day and avoid injury. Ramirez told MassLive.com, "You play hard, but at the same time you try to be smart. You've got to be smart. My teammates, everybody knows, they keep telling me how important it is for me to be in the lineup every day. That's what I'm trying to do.
"At the same time, I go out there, chase after the balls. When I see myself getting close to the wall, I say, 'Hanley don't do it.' So that's the thing that I always keep in the back of my head."