Hanley Ramirez Ready To Handle Third Base

Just so we can wrap this all up in a neat little package, all that stuff about Hanley Ramirez being really stubborn about his forced move to third base? It’s not an issue anymore. Or at least, if it is an issue, Hanley Ramirez is keeping it to himself. From Jon Heyman:

It’s possible that Ramirez is seething on the inside. He certainly didn’t want to be moved off of shortstop, and just because he’s accepted it doesn’t mean he’s thrilled about it. But, what’s he going to do? Force a trade? Half-ass everything? Provoke discontent within the clubhouse? He might grumble every now and again, especially as he learns that third basemen get different grounders than shortstops do, but Ramirez probably isn’t going to do anything too destructive. That would be, in a word, stupid.

Immediately, what everybody knew was that Ramirez would have to slide over to third base. Reyes is the more competent shortstop, and Reyes is the bigger star. Ramirez has had his thoughts about the shift, and few of them have been positive, but from the sounds of things, he’s not going to let the move get him down. Tom D’Angelo:

To be honest, this was pretty much never not going to happen. Ramirez wasn’t thrilled about being bumped. That’s just fine. Why would he be? Over time, he’s gotten used to the idea, and he’s not so selfish that he’ll throw a fit and try to hurt the team. Ramirez knows that the right thing to do is to suck it up and be the best damn third baseman he can be, and that’s what it sounds like he’s going to do. Of course. Ramirez was always going to be okay with things by opening day. It looks like he’ll be okay with things by opening day, if not before then.

The key word is “yet,” I suppose, but Ozzie Guillen talked about his reluctant third baseman in a video interview posted by the Miami Herald:

As funny -- intentionally and not -- as Guillen can be, it’s an understanding approach. Where I’d be tempted to use adjectives like “petulant”, “whiny”, and “clanky” when it comes to Ramirez’s disapproval of his new role, Guillen takes the reaction as a sign of Ramirez’s confidence. Hanley thinks he’s a great shortstop. Great shortstops should be annoyed when they’re asked to move. Makes sense.

Yeah, probably. That was just a few weeks ago.

Yeah, probably. That was just a few years ago. Somehow it seems like longer, though. Which is presumably why the Marlins have devoted a significant percentage of their financial resources to a new, different shortstop.

Breakdown of Reyes contract with #Marlins: $10 mil, $10 mil, $16 mil, $22 mil, $22 mil, $22 mil. $$22 mil option on ‘18 with $4 mil buyout.