Before the Sox acquired the two-time Gold Glover, Ramirez said he was willing to move to second or third base, but would prefer to remain at short. He also understands he could be playing elsewhere.
"You never know; they could trade me," he said yesterday. "I just want to go to training camp and be on the team."
Asked if he was hurt by the signing, Ramirez said, "Of course I am hurt that I did not get the position I was expecting to fill. But I will play wherever they want me to and, for that matter, with whatever team wants me. I just like to play ball."
Did anybody from the Red Sox contact him?
"They haven't talked to me," Ramirez said.
According to Ben Cherington, the Sox' director of player development, the Renteria deal won't necessitate a position switch for Ramirez.
"Hanley is someone we like a lot and that hasn't changed in the last three days," said Cherington. "He's a shortstop and he's going to stay a shortstop. We believe he's going to be a good major league shortstop."
Major attraction
When he signed with the Red Sox in 2000 at age 16, Ramirez was a just a naive kid from the sun-drenched Dominican Republic who loved to play.
"I didn't know you got paid to play baseball," said Ramirez, sitting in the dugout before a recent Dominican Winter League game with his team, the Licey Tigers. A career .314 minor league hitter, Ramirez has been described as a five-tool shortstop. A can't-miss player.
The Red Sox placed him on the 40-man roster, which gets him an invitation to spring training with the big boys.
Last week, Sox owner John W. Henry and team president Larry Lucchino let him hold the World Series trophy at the Red Sox Academy in El Toro, 45 minutes outside the Dominican capital. "Get ready," Henry told him.
"I'm excited being on the 40-man roster, my whole family is excited," said Ramirez, who turns 21 Thursday. "I feel happy. I'm a young kid getting an opportunity to be in the league. My goal is to play hard and do everything the right way. I want to play with Manny and [David] Ortiz."
