Until the season is underway, we have no way of knowing how Hanley Ramirez truly feels about playing third base for the Marlins. Jose Reyes is the team’s shortstop and Hanley can either deal with that or put up a stink. At the end of the day, it will be up to him. As for whether or not he’s on board with it, opinions have varied throughout the offseason. Earlier this week, Ozzie Guillen said Ramirez was not 100 percent on board with the move but would be by opening day. Franklin Mirabal, a writer for the Dominican Newspaper Hoy, then wrote a piece about how Hanley’s relationship with Reyes would inevitably be strained by the situation. Ramirez responded to the article with a series of tweets on Friday, which the Sun Sentinel translated.

“Folks, via this medium I want to let everyone know that what came out in the newspaper Hoy about me, the team and Guillen is a lie,” Ramirez wrote.

“And now what are you going to talk about if the whole world knows I’m going to play third base with the Marlins?” he added in a separate tweet. “Trying to soil my image with lies. Third base with the Marlins forever baby.”

Hanley then tweeted the photo you see above of him and Reyes hanging out at a golf course. At the moment, all is well. It’s fun to speculate about the situation getting ugly, but it’s tough to argue with, “Third base with the Marlins forever baby.” For now, Ramirez and Reyes appear to be looking forward to holding down the left side of the Marlins’ infield. Whether you believe Hanley or not, his Wednesday tweets should close the discussion — at least until the season begins.

Fist pound to Eye on Baseball

In order for the Miami Marlins to be successful with their new manager in their new stadium, they will need Hanley Ramirez to be on board with his change of position. Ramirez is a shortstop. He has also been the Marlins’ best player for quite a few years. Now that Jose Reyes was signed to play his position, you can understand why Hanley may feel a bit insulted. While there have been reports that he has accepted the fact that he is the Marlins’ third baseman and Reyes is the shortstop, Ozzie Guillen said that is not yet the case. Check out this video from the Miami Herald:

“No, no,” Ozzie said when asked if Ramirez is 100 percent on board with moving to third base. “Hanley? I don’t think he’s 100 percent on board — not yet. From the last time I talked to him, no. I don’t expect him to be. I expect him to be 100 percent on board with this move when we play St. Louis (in the first game of the season). Right now, just let it be.”

“This is Hanley’s team, man. I said that even when we were going after Albert Pujols.”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the elephant in the room that could drown the fish this season. Ownership has spent plenty of money and we know Ozzie is capable of leading a team to a World Series, but Miami will suffer if Ramirez decides he wants his old position back.

H/T Eye on Baseball

From the moment the Marlins signed Jose Reyes to a monster contract, everyone knew there were potential issues looming with he and Hanley Ramirez on the same roster.  Both play the same position and both are quite good at it.  If both are still with the team come late March, new Marlins skipper Ozzie Guillen is going to have to find room for his infield superstars.  At first, it sounded like Hanley would not be open to making a move to third base to accommodate Reyes.  However, it appears that Guillen has gotten through to him for the time being.

“I’ve spoken with (Ozzie) Guillen, and what we both want is to win with the Marlins,” Ramirez according to a Miami Herald translation of an Associated Press report. “When we get to January, we’ll see what happens with the position change and everything else. If it’s at third, fine. Wherever they put me, I’ll do it in order to win.

“I’m very happy, better than ever. We’re the new Marlins. I’m also a new Hanley. Good things are coming for this upcoming season.”

Whatever Ozzie said to Ramirez seems to have worked — for now. A couple months ago Hanley was adamant about remaining a shortstop. Those feelings don’t just disappear overnight because of a conversation he had with his new manager.  As we have seen on numerous occasions in the past, things are always easier in the locker room when teams are winning.  As long as the Marlins stay on a winning track, Ramirez might be happy at his new position.  If things start to go south, the situation could escalate in a hurry.  My gut tells me Miami won’t get through a full season without dealing with a frustrated Hanley.