Jose Reyes Press Conference: Miami Marlins Introduce New Shortstop At Winter Meetings

The Miami Marlins formally introduced Jose Reyes as their new shortstop Wednesday morning at baseball's Winter Meetings. Rob Neyer of Baseball Nation covered the news conference live from Dallas.

The biggest question surrounding Reyes' arrival from the New York Mets via free agency is how he fits with Miami, which already has, in Hanley Ramirez, a top-notch shortstop. Marlins president Larry Beinfest addressed that topic prior to fielding any questions about it. "Hanley is a key to our team," he said. "We have dealt with him respectfully and timely. We expect him to be our third baseman. Within 30 seconds of bringin in Jose we communicated with Hanley and let him know what was going on."

It remains to be seen how well Ramirez will adjust to moving from short to third, and what his attitude about that switch will be. Battling injury for much of the 2011 campaign, Ramirez hit just .243, two years after leading the National League with a .342 average and finishing second in MVP voting. Reyes led the NL with a .337 average in 2011.

"They showed that they really want me," Reyes said of the Marlins, who inked him to a six-year deal worth $106 million.

For more Marlins coverage, please visit Fish Stripes, SB Nation's Marlins blog.

Jose Reyes Signs With Miami Marlins, Gets Animated

Is Jose Reyes Worth His Six-Year $106 Million Contract With The Marlins?

The Florida Marlins just signed Jose Reyes to a six-year $106 million contract late Sunday night to really kick off the Baseball Winter meetings in grand fashion. That's a whole lot of money, and there is some disagreement about whether or not Reyes is worth the money. Rob Neyer at our very own Baseball Nation has some concerns.

I don't have any idea. I don't have that information handy. Here in Dallas, we have baseball writers, not information. But I'm guessing however you run the numbers, you're going to find that Reyes' expected performance over these next six years is worth slightly less than $119 million, or slightly more. But within whatever margin of error you happen to find acceptable.

If he plays 125-130 games per season.

One catastrophic injury makes this deal look foolish. Two makes it a disaster.

For a counterpoint, here's Dave Cameron from MLB Fangraphs.

If Reyes manages to stay reasonably healthy for most of the next six years, the Marlins are going to get a lot of surplus value from this contract. They’ve signed an elite player who isn’t yet 30 years old and whose skillset historically ages quite well. He doesn’t have to be the next ironhorse to earn this contract — he just has to stay away from something like a skillset-altering leg injury. Essentially, if he can avoid the Grady Sizemore career path, he’s a pretty good bet to be worth this contract and then some.

While the two men aren't totally in agreement about the value of Reyes' contract, they seem to be making the same point. Jose Reyes has to be healthy to make it worth it. He's had some issues with that in the past, and it's unfair to expect him to be completely healthy over the life of his contract, but if he can avoid that big injury like Mr. Cameron says, he should be worth it.

Marlins Sign Reyes; OMG, Amirite?

Jose Reyes, Miami Marlins Agree To Six-Year, $106M Deal Pending Physical, According To Report

Free agent short stop Jose Reyes and the Miami Marlins have agreed to a six-year, $106 million deal pending a physical, according to a report by Ken Rosenthal.

The free agent short stop spent the first nine seasons of his career on the New York Mets, originally signing as an amateur free agent in 1999. The 28-year old shortstop the first big splash the new look Miami Marlins have made so far since offering up a deal to Albert Pujols. With the reported addition of Reyes to the infield, it's expected that current Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez will move to third base. Ramirez has expressed reluctance to do so in the past, but the addition of Reyes to the left side of the infield should make it rather formidable.

For his career, Reyes is a .292 hitter and coming off a career best .337 average in 2011. Last season, Reyes had 44 RBI and 39 stolen bases on the season.

To join in the conversation about the Marlins’ offseason, head on over to SB Nation’s blog on the Marlins, Fish Stripes.