I could hardly believe what I was reading this morning when I saw on my facebook news feed that the Red Sox have reached agreements with both Pablo "Panda" Sandoval and erstwhile Sox farmhand turned superstar Hanley Ramirez. Part of me is thrilled to have two huge impact bats joining an offense-starved team. Part of me is wondering, is this the 2010-2011 offseason all over again? Still another part of me is wondering, what about the pitching?
This being November 24, the offseason is far from over, so there is plenty of time and still plenty of $$$ to add to the pitching staff. When you go all in with guys like Panda and Hanley, however, it makes little sense not to add an elite starting pitcher (or two) to a currently laughable rotation. Signing Lester (or Scherzer) is just about mandatory now, as is bringing aboard a #2 starter that is not a steep drop-off from #1.
It's obvious that Panda will play third base, but what isn't so obvious is where Hanley Ramirez will play. Hanley started his career in the Red Sox system and was traded to the Marlins for Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell in 2005. He has played most of his career at shortstop, but the Red Sox have a promising young shortstop in Xander Bogaerts. While Bogaerts struggled for much of the year, he finished strong and it would be premature to give up on him as a shortstop. It's possible Hanley could move to the outfield to pave the way for a Yoenis Cespedes trade. When Big Papi calls it a career, Hanley could move to DH.
This offseason just got real...
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