UPDATE: Denials all around after report states Hanley Ramirez likely to be dealt

By Matthew PouliotDec 7, 2011, 5:35 PM EST
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5:35 p.m. EST update: Marlins president David Samson said there’s no truth to this at all; that Ramirez didn’t ask for his contract to be restructured and that there will be no trade.

4:30 p.m. EST update: Andy Mota, Ramirez’s agent, told the Miami Herald’s Clark Spencer that Olney was way off with his report. He says Ramirez did not ask for a restructured contract and that the team is not exploring trades. “Not even close,” Mota said.

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A source tells ESPN’s Buster Olney that the Marlins will look to trade Hanley Ramirez after the disgruntled infielder requested a restructured deal from the team.

Ramirez is upset about being asked to move to third base from shortstop to make room for Jose Reyes, but he doesn’t have a leg to stand on here. He’s already guaranteed $46.5 million over the next three years, and his play the last two seasons certainly doesn’t warrant any new considerations. Ramirez looked like he’d be a perennial MVP candidate after an awesome three-year run in his mid-20s, but his OPS has dropped from .954 to .853 to .712 since 2009.

Olney speculates that the Marlins, knowing that they would shed Ramirez’s salary, could sign Prince Fielder and either C.J. Wilson or Mark Buehrle in the next few days. They’ve already made a six-year offer to Wilson and a four-year proposal to Buehrle.

The Red Sox and Tigers are two of the teams that could be interested in taking on Ramirez’s contract.

Giants hire Gabe Kapler as new manager

By Bill BaerNov 12, 2019, 10:20 PM EST
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The Giants announced on Tuesday the hiring of Gabe Kapler as manager. Kapler, filling the extremely large shoes of future Hall of Famer Bruce Bochy, inked a three-year deal, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. Kapler was one of three finalists for the job, beating out Astros bench coach Joe Espada and Rays bench coach Matt Quataro.

Following his 12-year playing career, Kapler was a coach for Israel’s team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifier. He then became an analyst for FS1 before joining the Dodgers’ front office as the director of player development in November 2014. He was involved in three scandals there: one in which he tried to handle a sexual assault incident involving two Dodgers minor league players without telling police, one in which he allegedly discriminated against Nick Francona, a veteran and former baseball operations employee, and an incident that implicated most of the Dodgers’ front office concerning the recruiting of international free agents. The Dodgers reportedly kept a spreadsheet of employees and their level of criminality.

Despite Kapler’s background, the Phillies hired him as their manager ahead of the 2018 season. He would lead the Phillies to an 80-82 record that year and then helped them improve by one game in 2019, finishing at exactly .500 before being fired. Kapler’s tenure in Philly was tumultuous, often drawing ire from the local media and subsequently the fan base for not being tough enough on his players. The Phillies also reportedly had a clubhouse issue in 2018 in which players were playing video games in the clubhouse during games, prompting Carlos Santana to smash a TV with a bat.

Kapler has a history with Farhan Zaidi, the Giants’ president of baseball operations. They worked together in the Dodgers’ front office as Zaidi served as GM from November 2014-18.