Court documents: Authorities aren't investigating Hanley Ramirez

Hanley Ramirez is not the subject of a federal drug investigation, the Boston Globe reported Sunday, negating an earlier media report about the former Boston Red Sox designated hitter. The newspaper reported that Ramirez merely became tangentially connected to the drug case when a suspect name-dropped the slugger during an arrest in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid suspicion. The attorney of a man arrested in April and accused of moving fentanyl from New York to Massachusetts said that his client knew Ramirez from the Dominican Republic. When detained in western Massachusetts as part of a drug investigation, the unnamed man told police that he was delivering a box of books from Ramirez's mother to Ramirez, the Globe reported, citing a Drug Enforcement Administration affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Boston. The man reportedly then phoned Ramirez and had him speak to the state trooper. Ramirez reportedly said he didn't know about a package from his mother, and he gave police permission to open the box, which was then found to contain two kilograms of fentanyl, according to the affidavit. The suspect then told police that Ramirez had no involvement with the drugs, per the affidavit. Both Ramirez and the Red Sox had denied any knowledge of Ramirez being under investigation. The team released Ramirez on June 1. "The organization didn't know about this," Boston manager Alex Cora said Friday when asked about the report that Ramirez was linked to a federal drug probe. "I didn't know about this. I hope it's not true." Ramirez remains a free agent even though another team would only have to pay him the pro-rated major league minimum for this season with Boston responsible for the remainder of his $22 million salary. --Field Level Media