Jose Reyes agreed early Monday morning to a six-year/$106 million dollar contract to become the new shortstop for the Florida Marlins. This signing indicates what many presumed about Miami upon word they would be debuting their new stadium this coming 2012 season. That they would be major players in the free-agent market.
And they’re not done.
Sources are saying they are still in the market for Albert Pujols and a left-handed starter to balance their rotation (C.J. Wilson or Mark Buherle). The signing of Reyes means Hanley Ramirez will be moved to another position but I question this logic for two reasons. The first being his defense, which was never that solid at short and now he is expected to shift over to third. The next involves top infield prospect Matt Dominguez (third base) and undoubtedly the end of his tenure with the Marlins. He had a less than stellar performance in the Arizona Fall League this year and that was preceded by low totals throughout the minors. He is still young, and I could see him being used as a trade piece to a team that may be willing to take a flyer on him and his potential for the right price (Seattle? Oakland?).
Reyes, when healthy, is the premier lead-off man in the game. He was the first New York Met to win a batting title and will now team up with 2009 batting champion Hanley Ramirez, young masher Mike Stanton, Gaby Sanchez and Logan Morrison to form a very formidable young lineup that has the potential to do some serious damage. Reyes’ history of injury leads me to the opinion that the Marlins overpaid a bit for the shortstop. But the Marlins had to do something big this off-season to excite the fan base and this move does just that.
