The Marlins wanted a deal with shortstop Jose Reyes BEFORE the start of baseball’s winter meetings and apparently they got it.
Now comes the sticky subject of what to do with Miami’s incumbent shortstop, Hanley Ramirez.
No sooner does my plane touch down in Dallas does the blogosphere explode with news of a six-year, $105 million deal with Reyes — first reported by ESPN Deportes and confirmed by Ken Rosenthal at FOX Sports before others chimed in.
I shared the developments on my iPhone with former manager Felipe Alou, who was on my flight to Dallas from West Palm Beach. Felipe works for the Giants now but he knows both Ramirez and Reyes.
In fact, Felip once had the same dilemma that the Marlins now have — both Reyes and Ramirez on the same team!
Felip managed both Reyes and Ramirez on the Dominican Republic team in the World Baseball Classic in 2009.
“That was a headache for me,’’ he said, “but the two guys were so good about it.’’
Alou wound up starting Reyes two games at shortstop and Ramirez one game (while being the designated hitter in the other two).
“We got eliminated after three games,’’ Alou said with a laugh.
“I kept both guys in the lineup. They were both pretty hitters.’’
Alou’s advice to the Marlins?
“I’d ask (Ramirez) to play third or center field. I think he’s such a good athlete, he could play anywhere,’’ he said.
But now it’s up to Hanley to take the high road and accept the move to third base. Last time we checked in with Hanley, he was not thrilled about moving.
There has been some lobby speculation that maybe the Marlins will try to trade Ramirez, but all indications I’ve gotten fromm the Marlins is that he will be at third base in 2012.
As for Reyes, Alou said the Marlins are a different team now.
“He’s a terrific player. He will help them a lot,’’ Alou said.
The Marlins will have two of the last three NL batting champions in their lineup — Ramirez in 2009 and Reyes in 2011.
No comments:
Post a Comment