According to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald, a source has told him that Hanley Ramirez is not at all pleased at the prospect of changing positions if the Marlins sign Jose Reyes and that the two shortstops are not the friends many portray them to be.
If Reyes signs with the Marlins, the belief is Ramirez will go to third. There is an outside chance that the Marlins could put him center. “We’ll jump off that bridge when we get to it,” Marlins president David Samson said.
Ramirez, who played three games at third when he was in the minors, said that until he is told otherwise, he’s the Marlins’ shortstop. It’s uncertain how receptive Ramirez would be if he is asked to change positions.
“I’m the shortstop,” he said. “I’ve always been a shortstop.”
This reminds me of when the Yankees traded for Alex Rodriguez who at the time was a gold glove caliber shortstop. With Derek Jeter entrenched at short for the Yankees, A-Rod agreed to play third and and has been fine defensively.
That said, prior to this report from Spencer, all previous reports suggested that it was Hanley Ramirez who pushed for the Marlins to pursue Reyes and has openly said he would gladly switch posisitions if need be, and this was also mentioned by manager Ozzie Guillen.
Yesterday, Ramirez said this about the prospect of adding Reyes,
“Definitely, I think it would be a good move for the Marlins because they want to improve our offense and he’s a pretty good player and this organization needs him,’ he said of Reyes.
Asked if the Marlins had spoken to him about the idea of changing positions, he replied, “Why do we need to talk about that right now? Right now, we’re excited for the new stadium and they are doing everything they can to put the best team on the field.’
I don’t think this is as big an issue as some are making it to be.
