Report: Hanley eyed in connection to ongoing federal, state investigation
Former Boston Red Sox slugger Hanley Ramirez is reportedly being eyed in connection to a federal and state investigation, according to Michele McPhee of ABC News.
"Obviously, I know absolutely nothing about sports or Hanley Ramirez’s stats, but what I do know is crime," McPhee told The Sports Hub after tweeting the initial report.
"And there has been some reports about a FaceTime phone call that was made between a man during a car stop. After that car stop, police recovered a significant amount of drugs. And during that car stop, the suspect claimed that one of the items found in the vehicle belonged to Hanley Ramirez and then FaceTimed (Ramirez) in front of police. And that car stop coordinated with the timing of his release from the Red Sox."
Ramirez's agent, Adam Katz, said his client is unaware of any investigation.
"Hanley has no knowledge of any of the allegations contained in this media report and he is not aware of any investigation," Katz said, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
The Red Sox surprisingly designated Ramirez for assignment on May 25, and he was released seven days later. Several teams were reportedly interested in signing Ramirez for the veteran minimum, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, but he was vacationing with his family and evaluating options.
Kevin Gregg, vice president of media relations for the Red Sox, told Alex Speier of the Boston Globe that the team was unaware of any investigation involving Ramirez, and the decision to release him was purely a baseball move.
Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski announced at the time that the call to part ways with Ramirez was made by manager Alex Cora. Earlier this week, Cora told reporters he's surprised the three-time All-Star hasn't been signed yet.
Ramirez is a career .290/.361/.487 hitter with 269 home runs, 909 RBIs, and 281 stolen bases over 14 seasons, and he's earned more than $159 million.