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Why a healthy and Rejuvenated, Hanley is important to Red Sox in 2018

Why Hanley being both healthy and rejuvenated is important for Red Sox to succeed in 2018


Ramirez worked out at first base Friday.

photo credit: BostonGlobe.com

Hanley is entering his final year of a four-year pact he signed back in 2015 with the Red Sox.  His three seasons with the Sox have been more frustrating than anything else, which has seen him struggle in two out of three of those seasons, with only producing one big season that was back in 2016, which saw him hit .286 with 30 home runs, drive in 111 and play in 111 games.

Yet the past last season saw him struggle with shoulder issues which limited him to mainly just DH'ing and thus prevented him from playing first base albeit for 18 games last season. Offensively even with the shoulder difficulties, he did hit 23 home-runs which is pretty impressive considering what he was dealing with, yet he only hit just.242 with a .750 OPS last season, taking over as the primary DH for David Ortiz.  Yet, while stepping into the same position as the retired Ortiz once occupied, he was unable to come anywhere close to the same production, that the former was able to do.
  After the season ended, Ramirez underwent arthroscopic surgery to clean out dead tissue in his left shoulder.  It was deemed that his right shoulder only needed rest and strengthening.

Hanley has already reported to Camp at Fort Myers and as of Friday was back at first, fielding ground balls and making the throws to second, and jokingly said that he expects to play around 150 games at first base this season.    Whether that actually happens or if the Red Sox end up signing someone else, possibly JDM? and it results in Hanley splitting time at both  DH and first base with both Mitch Moreland (1st) and JDM (DH) having a healthy and eager Hanley is a good sign for the Red Sox and their fans, and a bad sign for opposing pitchers heading into this season.

So while Hanley may say that he is playing for the team and wanting to do what's best, which he said to the BostonGlobe, "We just want to win a championship. If you produce and win, they’re going to take care of it at the end of the year. I just want to win and after that, we’ll see what happens.”
 He will also have to produce like he did back in 2016 in order to be able to a big part of any successes that this team will have in 2018 as well as the potential for his returning in 2019 on a player option worth $22 million.

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