Why the Reyes makes sense for the Marlins

According to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald, the Miami (Florida) Marlins contacted the agents to Jose Reyes at 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 3 when free agency officially began. The Marlins wasted no time in reaching out to what seems to be their number one target as far as MLB free agents go. Mike Francesca reported that the Marlins already have made an offer to Reyes. According to Ken Rosenthal, the Marlins have a meeting set up with Reyes on Wednesday. This all sounds good, right?

One problem. Jose Reyes plays the same position as Marlins superstar Hanley Ramirez. Well, actually, that is not a problem either. Hanley Ramirez in September went public with the idea of moving to third base if the Marlins signed his friend and fellow Dominican, Jose Reyes. A move like this would actually be a positive one for the Marlins. Jose Reyes is known for his wizardly glove at short stop. Ramirez is known to be a horrid fielding short stop. Hanley has the arm to play third base and his lack of range would be masked at third as well.

Reyes will likely command a contract over $100 million and around 6 years. That is a hefty contract for an oft-injured player.

So why should the Marlins be interested in this guy?

Well, two reasons actually.

• He’s extremely talented
• Would make Hanley Ramirez happy.

Reyes when healthy is a monster

Just take a look at his numbers when he is completely healthy.

Those are some astounding numbers for Reyes from last season. He would be a major spark on the Marlins team. Most importantly, he would get on base in front of the Marlins big bats of Mike Stanton and Logan Morrison. Having Reyes and Ramirez in the same lineup also adds a ton of speed to give the Marlins one of the most dynamic lineups in baseball.

Reyes=Hanley’s Happiness?

By now, everyone knows that Ramirez and Reyes are good buddies. They would love to team up like Dwyane Wade and Lebron James did to play on the same team together. Regardless of the moves the Marlins make this off-season, the most important thing to their success is to have their best player happy, healthy, and motivated. The middle one is something Hanley is working on now in rehab. The first and third ones are the ones that Reyes’ presence can help with. Adding a player like Reyes will keep Hanley Ramirez feeling competitive and motivated to try hard. This is speculation, but I believe last season when Hanley lost Dan Uggla, that affected his production. Uggla was not afraid to call out Ramirez when he did not give it his all. Uggla and Ramirez also shared a very close bond when they played together. Reyes is a type of player that could add that same dynamic as Uggla did. That is the same reason why they brought in Ozzie Guillen. Even when Ozzie became the manager of the Chicago White Sox, the Marlins would often call him up to help keep Miguel Cabrera in check.

Potential Lineup with Reyes and possibly Yoenis Cespedes?

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Emilio Bonifacio LF
3. Hanley Ramirez 3B
4. Mike Stanton RF
5. Logan Morrison/ Gaby Sanchez 1B
6. Yoenis Cespedes
7. Omar Infante 2B
8. John Buck C

That is a very dependable starting lineup that can score with any team in baseball. The way I see things playing out, only one of Gaby Sanchez or Logan Morrison is likely to be back in 2012. I think the Marlins would be wiser to hold onto Morrison but we will see. The Marlins are also very likely to make Bonifacio an everyday player in 2012 and he would make a positive impact playing left field.

If the 2012 Marlins are serious about making a playoff push and being a World Series contender in the first season of playing in their brand new state of the art ballpark, they will need to add talent. Just as it is important to add talent, the Marlins need their best player to be happy, motivated, and injury free. The best bet for the Marlins to do so would be to add one of Hanley’s close friends, Jose Reyes. Ramirez has already said he would switch positions to embrace Reyes being a Marlin. The Marlins need to get out there and prove to Ramirez that they truly are serious about contending and making the team better.