Did Brock Holt reveal a shocking reason for Hanley Ramirez’s Red Sox exit?

When the Boston Red Sox suddenly designated Hanley Ramirez for assignment on May 25, 2018, the timing wasn’t necessarily fishy. Ramirez went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts the night before at Tampa Bay. He scored just 0 runs in his final 20 games and did little to intimidate opponents as the team’s designated hitter.

Ramirez is in the final year of a four-year, $88 million contract. By cutting him, the Red Sox effectively agreed to pay Ramirez all but his prorated portion of the major league minimum salary — $545,000 at the time. However, no team selected him.

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Brock Holt may have given why.

Holt was Ramirez’s teammate on the 2018 Red Sox, who compiled the MLB’s best regular-season record before defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in a five-game World Series.

In a new episode of the Section 10 Podcast, Holt tells the story of a teammate who was released midway through the 2018 season for a very dark reason.

“We were in Tampa, and we stretched before BP,” Holt said. “We were sitting around in a circle, having a great time, getting ready for a Major League Baseball game. This guy looked around and said, ‘You know what? Tomorrow I’m going to go out on the field with a gun and kill you all.'”

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“And he looked me right in the eyes and said, ‘You’re going to be the first.'” I was like, man, I know you’re probably kidding, but you can’t say that. “

Holt said word of the threat had reached the team’s front office.

“Our strength coach at the time said, ‘Man, I’ve got to tell (Dave) Dombrowski (Red Sox general manager at the time), and I’m like, please tell me because I’m the first one to go,” Holt said.

Only one player on the Red Sox’s major league roster was cut midway through the 2025 regular season series in Tampa: Ramirez.