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.
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