Last Thursday, Hanley Ramirez was quoted as saying that “it would be a good move” for the Marlins to sign Jose Reyes. He sidestepped questions about a position change, though he did note that he considered himself a shortstop.
Seems that that’s pretty much the limit of his diplomatic skills, because Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweeted that Ramirez was “not at all pleased” with a possible move to third base. In an article by Spencer posted last night, Ramirez is quoted as saying “I’m the shortstop. I’ve always been a shortstop.” Spencer added that Ramirez and Reyes — despite being portrayed as friends by some — are actually not friendly with one another.
Sort of a poor-man’s Jeter-A-Rod, eh? Except in this instance the new guy, assuming Reyes signs with Miami, isn’t going to switch positions and the old guy does not have one scintilla of the diplomatic skills and goodwill built up to be able to successfully pull off such intransigence.
As Spencer notes, there have been a lot of shortstops who have made the switch to third, with A-Rod and Cal Ripken Jr. being the most notable. Ramirez is not so great a shortstop that he will stick at short long term anyway, and his bat is strong enough to play anywhere, third base included.
But if his pouting skills are as strong as his hitting skills, this could be a fairly ugly situation for Ozzie Guillen to have to manage.
