Alexei Ramirez Reportedly Signs with San Diego Padres

As the MLB free-agent market continues to play out, shortstop Alexei Ramirez has reportedly signed with the San Diego Padres on a one-year deal, according to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman.

Earlier in the day, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported the Padres were nearing a deal with Ramirez and that, "barring a surprise," he will be signing there. 

Ramirez's name has been floated around a few times this offseason, though nothing has come of it thus far.

Levine reported on Dec. 28 the Chicago White Sox had not "completely closed the door" on bringing Ramirez back for a ninth season after they already acquired infielders Todd Frazier and Brett Lawrie in separate trades. 

Ramirez became a free agent after the White Sox declined his $10 million option in November 2015. Levine did note most insiders felt the White Sox were likely to invest whatever money they had left in upgrading their outfield.

The Padres are in need of an upgrade at shortstop. Alexi Amarista played 118 games for the team in 2015, hitting a dismal .204/.257/.287 and had the worst FanGraphs' wins above replacement (minus-0.8) among shortstops with at least 300 plate appearances. 

Ramirez was actually the second-worst shortstop in terms of FanGraphs' WAR (minus-0.5), yet he still managed to be a superior offensive performer compared to Amarista (.249/.285/.357).

His defense is in decline, which has cost the White Sox 10 runs at shortstop combined over the last two seasons, but the offensive upgrade over Amarista could make him a worthwhile risk for the Padres. 

Stats per FanGraphs.com.