Red Sox close to finalizing deal with Hanley Ramirez

Free-agent Hanley Ramirez will fly to Boston tomorrow finalize a contract with the Red Sox, according to a report from Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. Rosenthal notes that the deal is expected to be in the five-year, $90 million range.

Earlier today, Ramirez was said to be in "advanced conversations" with the Red Sox, who are also known to be aggressive in their pursuits of Pablo Sandoval and Jon Lester. Sandoval is deciding between offers from the Red Sox, Giants and Padres, and it will be interesting to see if the Sox' pending signing of Ramirez will have any impact on Sandoval's decision.

For Ramirez, the pending agreement means that he will return to his original organization, with whom he spent the first four seasons of his professional career before being traded to the Marlins in the Josh Beckett-Mike Lowell blockbuster. Ramirez appeared in two games for the Sox when he made his major league debut in 2005, striking out in both of his at-bats. It is currently unclear which position he will fill for the Red Sox, who appear set at shortstop (Xander Bogaerts), third base (Will Middlebrooks or Sandoval, if he signs), and the outfield (Yoenis Cespedes, Rusney Castillo, Allen Craig and Daniel Nava).