Hanley Ramirez to stay at short stop

by craig on Oct 27, 2011 4:54 PM EDT in News and Rumors

As of now, the Marlins are planning for Hanley Ramirez to open the season as the Marlins' short stop.

Hanley Ramirez is doing well in his rehab and is still hoping to open spring training on time in February. Ramirez also plans to be back in his usual position — shortstop.

Ramirez said no one from the Marlins has approached him about playing another position next year, according to one of his representatives, Andy Mota.

This was backed up by David Samson today.

"There has been no conversations with that," Samson said. "I suppose if we sign a free-agent first baseman who would only sign with us if he could play shortstop, I guess that is the conversation we'd have with all of our players.

"But Hanley is our starting shortstop."

If the Marlins are trying to sign a first baseman who will only sign if he gets to play short, they are trying to sign the wrong player.

I agree with Joe Capozzi on this, it is not likely the Marlins will have Hanley change positions since he will be returning from shoulder surgery. It will be more than enough for him to get healthy, get his swing back, work on his range of motion, being able to trust that he can dive or swing a bat and not end up being hurt again. There is no reason to compound all of this with him learning a new position. At least not at this point.

This of course could change as time marches on, but it is highly doubtful. But if the Marlins do sign someone like Jose Reyes this conversation will be readdressed.

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Good, let's hope he gets rid of that slump along with the injury

Miami's Superstars: Reggie Bush, Brandon Marshall, Jake Long, Karlos Dansby, Cameron Wake, Vontae Davis and Sean Smith (just wait), Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Mike Stanton, Gaby Sanchez, and Hanley Ramirez. :)

by finzrule on Oct 27, 2011 5:18 PM EDT reply actions

Always been a fan of...

Moving Hanley to 3b. Always thought that is the smartest move. He has lost range of motion since his rookie year and isn’t as athletic as he used to be. He will take less of a beating at 3b and will be required to move around less. He can stay at the same weight, instead of having to likely shed a few pounds to be a more prototypical shortstop. I’d rather have Jose Reyes, Hanley, Infante and Gaby starting than something like this: Aramis Ramirez (or any other 3b), Hanley, Infante and Gaby. The latter is too power heavy and that was not been successful for us in recent years. The first means we have more speed, better OBP, and a way better defense. Offensively, it would be a more diverse line up capable of a multitude of different things.

Album coming soon

by Han The Man And The Band on Oct 27, 2011 7:11 PM EDT reply actions

Not to undermine your argument or anything, but...

Reyes career OBP: .341
Ramirez career OBP: .342

Having said that:

Reyes OBP, 2009-2011: .352
Ramirez OBP, 2009-2011: .345

This doesn’t say a whole lot, as Reyes is obviously a better player, but it does bring up this question: how much better is he? Is he $6 million a season for 3 additional years better? There are definitely questions about that.

by Michael Jong on Oct 28, 2011 4:45 PM EDT up reply actions

nope pretty simple

reyes is not worth that kind of money… for the marlins. yanks/mets doesnt matter as much as they have way higher payrolls.
the fish can’t pay 1/5 of payroll for a guy that really only steals bases & gets on base. boner ain’t reyes but last season…
bonifacio: .296/.360 40 SB (226 combined H & BB) for 425K
reyes: .337/.384 39 SB (224 combined H & BB) for 11 mill

the fish need SP & power and that’s what the additional $$ should be spent on

by byoung on Oct 30, 2011 5:57 PM EDT up reply actions