Dodgers And Hanley Talking Contract Extension

According to Dionisio Soldevila of ESPNDeportes.com, reports that the Dodgers and Hanley Ramirez are discussing a contract extension.

Hanley loves the Dodgers and playing in Los Angeles, and has expressed interest in staying with the Dodgers for his entire career, and thinks a new deal could be done this winter. According to the source, Hanley was quoted as saying  “We are negotiating something, but we are going step-by-step”.

Hanley as you know replaced the injury riddled Matt Kemp as the Dodger’s franchise hitter. The 29-year old shortstop had one of the greatest seasons for a Dodger shortstop in recent memory, despite dealing with a multitude of injuries that caused him to miss half of the season. Even though Hanley dealt with a torn ligament in his thumb suffered in the World Baseball Classic, a pulled hamstring, and a broken rib that caused him to play the entire NLCS in a flak jacket, Hanley still slugged .638 with a 1.040 OPS in 336 plate appearances. He batted .345 with a .402 OBP, 20 home runs, and 57 runs batted in while playing 86 games in 2013.

Hanley Is currently under contract, but his current six-year 70 million dollar contract expires at the end of the 2014 season. There is absolutely no question that signing Hanley to a long term deal is imperative to the success of the Dodgers. We learned very quickly last season that the Dodgers cannot win without Hanley in the lineup. Hopefully the Dodgers will lock Hanley up and all Dodger fans can marvel at his beautiful swing for many, many years to come.