Hanley Ramirez has been lobbying for a new contract since the offseason, but the veteran shortstop won't get his wish as reports indicated that the Los Angeles Dodgers are not willing to talk about a new deal.
Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reported that the Dodgers are not planning to offer a contract extension to Ramirez until after the current season mainly because of the 30-year-old's health struggles this year.
Ramirez is currently on the disables list because on an oblique strain and has also sustained thumb, calf and shoulder injuries earlier in the season - the main reason why the Dodgers aren't ready to open their bank for the veteran.
But while Ramirez has missed 26 games this season, Dodgers president Stan Kasten said that all is not lost for the Dominican Republic native because he will have the opportunity to show that he deserves a new deal later in the season when he returns to action.
"We love Hanley," Kasten said. "There is still lots of time this season for him to make a big impact in September, and hopefully in October."
For now, Kasten said that they are not planning to sit down with Ramirez and his representatives as both camps agreed that postponing the talks until after the current season is the right thing to do.
"Both sides have agreed we'll sit down and talk at the end of the season and decide. We both decided that makes the most sense. As difficult a season as he's had physically, there is still lots of time for him to have an enormous impact for us," Kasten said.
Ramirez is batting .277 this season with 12 homeruns, but it is still far from his performance last season where he averaged .345 and a 1.040 OPS. But despite the performance dip this season, one league insider is still convinced that Ramirez will be one of the most coveted free agents on the market next offseason.
"He'd be one of the best bats in the market, if not the best," the league insider was quoted as saying.
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