Dombrowski: Decision to part ways with Hanley was Cora's

Boston Red Sox rookie manager Alex Cora made the deciding call on the club's shocking decision to designate Hanley Ramirez for assignment on Friday.

"I know it's surprising for a lot of people, but it's a baseball move," Cora told reporters, according to Guerin Austin of NESN.

With Dustin Pedroia's impending return from the disabled list, the Red Sox faced a roster crunch. It was expected that utility man Blake Swihart would be the odd man out, but Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Cora was adamant that Ramirez was the player that needed to go.

"We were prepared to maybe go in a different direction with our move," Dombrowski said, according to ESPN. "(Cora) called me around 11:30 (Thursday) morning. I was about to go for a run, and Alex goes 'I've got a thought for you about what we're doing,' and he said 'This is a move I would like to make.'

"(Cora) said this is something that I recommend us doing and I said 'you're sure?' and he said 'yes. Then he went through some different reasons behind it and his thought process. What I asked him to do at that point was to go to the ballpark and meet with his coaching staff and be in a position where that's what he really wanted to do. When I got to the ballpark yesterday, he said this is what we would like to do, so we proceeded in that direction."

The decision to part ways with Ramirez is an expensive one, but it will also save the Red Sox money in the long run. He's owed roughly $15 million this season, though by releasing him, the Red Sox will ensure that his $22-million option for 2019 will not vest. Boston could work out a deal with another club over the next week, though that is unlikely.

"The vesting option has nothing to do with (the decision)," Dombrowski said, according to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. "We're trying to do everything we can to win."

Cora gave Ramirez plenty of opportunities to perform this season. He hit either second or third in the lineup through 44 games, but after slashing .189/.243/.316 with six extra-base hits, and 18 strikeouts over the last 23 games, the club had seen enough.

"We felt we gave him all the chances," Cora said, according to Bill Koch of the Providence Journal. "He hit third for this team and did an outstanding job early in the season. Sometimes you’ve got to make tough decisions. On a daily basis, sometimes it was tough not to play Mitch (Moreland).

"He did an outstanding job. Whenever we asked him to hit second, he hit second. He hit third, off days - it didn't matter. But I do feel that we can maximize this roster a little bit better."

After signing a four-year, $88-million deal with Boston on Nov. 25, 2014, Ramirez hit .260/.326/.450 with 78 home runs, 71 doubles, and 255 RBIs over 429 games, and was worth 1.2 WAR.