There's been a number of rumors this offseason about if Hanley Ramirez will or will not be willing to move to third base now that the Miami Marlins have acquired Jose Reyes. Since Ramirez has never publicly stated his opinion on the matter, everyone with a passing connection to Ramirez is being asked to chime in on the situation.
↵The Marlins have commented on it. Ozzie Guillen has stated he believes it will all work okay. Logan Morrison commented on the situation at a Panthers game recently. And now, former Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez has tossed in his two cents:
↵↵↵I think it's going to be a very interesting situation, to say the least. Knowing Hanley. He's a very proud player. It's going to be very hard for him to move out of shortstop. He's a big league shortstop. He's an All-Star shortstop. In my opinion, they're going to have a tough time trying to convince him to move to third base. (MLB Network Radio)
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The Marlins are going to be a very good team in 2012. They have enough talent on their roster to make a run for a playoff spot, the first time in a number of years the Marlins can boast that. Ramirez may be a proud player, but the idea of playing on a competitive team for once has also got to be attractive.
↵So how about this: let's wait and let Hanley make up his own mind, instead of everyone wildly speculating about what he might do. There may be some truth to what Rodriguez is saying, but then again, there have been others this offseason close to Hanley that have stated he's okay with the transition. There's no way to know for sure what his opinion on the matter is, and this constant speculation isn't getting us anywhere.
↵How long until pitchers and catchers report? It can't come soon enough.
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