Before you go jumping up and down in joy or disdain, or start cursing at your computer screen read this disclaimer:This has not happened and is not likely to happen any time soon.
For those of you unfamiliar with Ramirez, he may be the most physically gifted player to every play in south Florida. He has been the Marlins shortstop since 2006 and is a three time all-star and former Rookie of the Year. He hits for power, average, and can steal bases(.306/.380/.506 career line with 216 stolen bases). His main problem is, he's a little below average defensively for a shortstop, and when the newly dubbed Miami Marlins signed his World Baseball Classic teammate Jose Reyes to a six year 106 million dollar deal he was no longer the best shortstop on his own team. This was until this past season his team, until his lackluster and off-injured 2011 campaign he had led the Fish in every major offensive category(including attitude) for the past four years.
This didn't sit well with Hanley, though he professed to be okay with a Reyes signing he wasn't okay with moving off of shortstop. Maybe he thought that new manager Ozzie Guillen would put Reyes at second base if they signed him, though that would be a terrible idea for all involved for several reasons. Maybe Guillen and GM Jeffery Loria expected their star player to be mature and move over to third or even center field to make room for his countryman. If they did it's hard to see why, he has a history of attitude problems and when he was benched in the 2009 baseball classic so that Reyes could start it didn't sit well at all with him. It was even more raw for Hanley as he played poorly when he did get an opportunity(although Reyes played at least as badly) and the Dominicans were beaten twice by a vastly inferior Netherlands team.
He also has problems with coaches and teammates most notably current Braves skipper Freddi Gonzalez and second baseman Dan Uggla. Gonzalez was shown the door shortly after benching the Marlins star for lackadaisical play, and he clashed with Uggla constantly when they were teammates. It is widely speculated that the Marlins failed to extend Uggla because he refused to have a contract of lesser value to Ramirez's.
After reading all this you may be thinking,"okay, I understand why he might be available, but why would you think he would ever be a Brave?"
This is why; he has been starting shortstop for the Marlins. Therefore he is fated to play for the Braves at some point in his career.
I won't deny it, this is a ridiculous statement and I should be laughed off the web for suggesting it. Until you see the facts.
The Florida Marlins played their first season in 1993 as an expansion team along with the Colorado Rockies, in that time they have had five primary starting shortstops.
In their introductory season it was premier glove man Walt Weiss, a product of the Oakland A's system and 1988 Rookie of the Year. Walt came to the Fish in a trade for a couple of players you've never heard of and had a fairly good season by his standards(.266/.367/.308) and was let walk as a free agent at the end of the season.
Walt would sign with the Braves to take over at short for the newly departed Jeff Blauser before the 1998 season, and had three quite good yet injury plagued season with the Bravos. Included in his time was his lone all-star appearance in 1998. He finished his career in Atlanta and is generally fondly remembered here, mostly as the guy who played short before Raphael Furcal.
Next on the list is Kurt Abbot, the primary shortstop for the Marlins between 1994 and 1996 and a few games there in 1997. He had his moments, but was largely unspectacular and was traded to the A's as soon as the Fish had another warm body to throw into the middle of their infield.
Braves fans everywhere are scratching their head right now,"Kurt Abbot? We never had him did we?"
Yeah we did, but if you blinked at all in the summer of 2001 you probably missed his entire Braves career. He played six games, staring one and at second base and would never play in the big leagues again.
The aforementioned warm body was non other than the talented Edgar Renteria, he hit his was into the lineup in late 1996 and kept a hold on the starting spot until he was traded to the Cardinals for Alfredo Amanza, Braden Looper, and Pablo Ozuna in the great fire sale 1998 of . None of whom worked out very well for the Marlins.
He came to Atlanta in in 2005 for minor league journeyman in training Andy Marte and had two very good seasons in Atlanta including what is in all likelihood his final all-star appearance in 2006. Unlike the two previous players mentioned he didn't finish his career with the Braves, but he might as well have as he has been largely unproductive since.
His successor for the fish was none other than the illustrious Alex Gonzalez, one of the finest defensive shortstops in the past decade. Unfortunately he doesn't know that if you take four balls they let you go to first for free. He played in Miami until he was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox before the 2006 season. Ironically enough this was shortly after they traded Renteria to Atlanta.
The Braves picked him up during a career year in an exchange for the "clubhouse cancer"Yunel Escobar and Jojo Reyes, included with Sea Bass were minor leaugers Tim Collins and 2012 possible starting shortstop Tyler Pastornicky. As we all know he played great defense didn't hit a lick and was loved by pitchers almost as much as he was hated by the fans watching his at bats.
He has now signed with the Brewers on a one year deal with a vesting option.
So the only question left is, when will the Braves get Hanley? Will it be in a trade in the next few years? Will it be as a free agent in the twilight of his career? Or will he be the first Marlin to break the cycle?
Perhaps just one more question to ask, if the Braves ever do get Ramirez, will they end up getting Reyes at some point as well?
Stats were provided by fangraphs.com and baseballreference.com.
