White Sox Decline 2016 Option On Alexei Ramirez, Making Him A Free Agent
(CBS) The White Sox have declined a $10 million option for 2016 on shortstop Alexei Ramirez, making him a free agent after he's spent his entire eight-year career in Chicago.
The team will instead pay a $1 million buyout to Ramirez, who's 34.
Ramirez has been a solid player since debuting in 2008 and made a lone All-Star appearance in 2014. But 2015 was a downer for Ramirez for the better part of four months, until he was able to turn his offense around in August and September. Ramirez hit .249 with 10 home runs, 62 RBIs and 54 runs.
Ramirez was well short of his .273 career batting average. His .285 on-base percentage was 25 points fewer than his career number, and he fell 67 points off his career OPS.
Ramirez was a stalwart in the White Sox lineup, having made 150 or more starts at shortstop for six consecutive seasons. Chicago originally signed him in January 2008 as a free agent out of Cuba.
The White Sox will likely turn the shortstop position over to second-year pro Tyler Saladino or prospect Tim Anderson.
