Former Boston Red Sox fan favorite Brock Holt says that one of his ex-teammates threatened to kill the entire team, and social media users believe that the player in question is three-time All-Star slugger Hanley Ramírez.
Speaking on the “Section 10 Podcast,” Holt shared a story about pregame workouts before facing the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018. According to Holt, he and some of his teammates were stretching on the field when one unnamed player made a disturbing comment.
“And this someone looks around at all of us and says, ‘You know what? I’m going to bring a gun to the field tomorrow and kill all of you,’” Holt recalled. “And then he looks straight at me and says, ‘And you’re gonna be first.’ And I was like, ‘Dude, I know you’re probably joking, but you can’t say that.’”
Holt said that he believed the strength staff quickly notified then-Red Sox general manager Dave Dombrowski, a move that Holt approved of.
Brock Holt tells us an INSANE story about a member of the 2018 Red Sox…who was then quickly released 😬 pic.twitter.com/in9Qx5Mhrx
— Section 10 Podcast (@Section10Pod) February 12, 2026
“I’m like, ‘Please [tell Dombrowski] because I’m the first one that’s gonna go,’” Holt said.
Although Holt did not name Ramírez, social media quickly identified the former NL Rookie of the Year as the likely candidate. The Red Sox designated Ramírez for assignment on May 25, 2018, midway through a road series in Tampa. Internet sleuths checked the Red Sox’s 2018 transaction log and found that Ramírez was the only player designated for assignment during a series against the Rays.
Neither Ramírez nor the Red Sox had addressed Holt’s comments at publication. However, former Red Sox assistant hitting coach Andy Barkett confirmed the story’s authenticity in an X post.
“True story,” Barkett wrote.
The timing of Ramírez’s release had always been somewhat intriguing, if only because of his initial hot start to the season. After hitting .311 through his first 30 games in 2018, Ramírez went on a prolonged cold streak. He had 12 hits in his last 71 at-bats (a .169 average) and was mired in a 0-for-21 slump when the Red Sox designated him for assignment.
True Story… https://t.co/z4mm5bUq4q
— Andy Barkett (@abarkett17) February 12, 2026
Ramírez was in the final season of a four-year, $88 million contract, meaning any team that signed him would have only needed to pay him the league minimum. However, Ramírez went unsigned for the rest of the season and didn’t return to the field until 2019, when he went 9-for-49 with two home runs and eight RBIs in 16 games for the Cleveland Indians.
Luckily for Holt and the Red Sox, it was almost immediately apparent that they didn’t need Ramírez to win. Boston won a franchise record 108 games — only the fourth time in team history that the Red Sox reached the 100-win mark and the first instance since 1946 — and defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
Last year marked only the Red Sox’s second playoff berth since their 2018 title. The rival New York Yankees defeated the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Round. Boston enters the 2026 season hoping to reach the postseason in consecutive years for the first time since 2016 through 2018.
