In the past couple weeks, the hot topic of fantasy nerds and GM wanna-be's has been Jay Cutler's pending divorce from the Denver Broncos. How much is a young stud quarterback worth in a trade?
Today, maybe a bigger name wandered into the mix. Quietly, maybe one of the five best professional athletes under the age of 26 made (and subsequently backed away from) a statement of wanting out.
Hanley Ramirez, the 25-year old shortstop of the Florida Marlins, was seen walking through the Marlins' clubhouse wearing a t-shirt that read "I'm sick of this sh*t." He would later say everything is "cool" with the Marlins.
Ramirez signed a six year, $70 million contract extension last May to be the face of a Marlins franchise fighting for a new home in Miami.
Ramirez's contract is structured for him to make $5.5 million in 2009, with escalating salaries from now until he makes $16 million in 2014. A reminder: he'll be just 30 years old in the final year of his contract.
So, as a fantasy nerd and wanna-be GM, how much is Ramirez worth in a trade?
Consider the resume Ramirez is building. In 2008 he batted .301 with 33 home runs and 31 stolen bases. He is, in many ways both statistically and in fantasy, perhaps the second coming of Alex Rodriguez just approaching his prime.
Let's look at the other names the Marlins have moved this winter. Mike Jacobs is now in Kansas City, Kevin Gregg is in Chicago, and Josh Willingham and Scott Olsen have been dealt to Washington. Now Ramirez has wandering interests.
Here are a few teams that might be interested, some deals that could happen, and a few wide open doors for discussion.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs have spent a healthy part of the off this off season watching the fans and media develop ways for them to acquire Padres' ace Jake Peavy. They have made a few moves this winter, one to bring on Gregg from the Marlins, and have a new ownership group that might be willing to explore a deal.
This would be a logical pairing because of the history the Cubs and Marlins have in the trade market. Names such as Derrek Lee, Matt Clement, Antonio Alfonseca and Juan Pierre have come north, while the Cubs have sent young players like Dontrelle Willis and current Marlins ace Ricky Nolasco back to Miami.
The Cubs also have a history that includes the original big-hitting shortstop, who was eventually move to a corner infield spot to prolong his career. Ernie Banks moved from short to first, and is still a god in Wrigleyville to this day.
Chicago also has some pieces that could make sense in a deal with Florida, though it would require Cubs GM Jim Hendry to be willing to withstand a substantial overhaul of his roster. How could a potential deal look between the Cubs and Marlins?
Option A
Cubs send SS Ryan Theriot, 2B Aaron Miles, 3B prospect Josh Vitters, pitchers Kevn Hart and Jeff Samardzija to Florida for Ramirez.
Option B
Cubs send 3B Aramis Ramirez, SS Ryan Theriot and 2B Aaron Miles to Florida for Ramirez.
We'll look at these deals one at a time. The common players between the two are Theriot and Miles; Theriot would obviously replace Ramirez at short, while Miles (and his two-year contract) give the Marlins depth behind Dan Uggla's one-year deal at second.
In Option A, the Marlins would be building their depth back up, which is more along the historical deals the team has made. Vitters is a young third baseman that's been a popular names this winter, while Hart and Samardzija would give the Marlins two more young arms for their arsenal.
Option B is where the intrigue begins. Let's not forget that the Marlins are trying to get a new stadium built, and would like to have a premier name in the middle of the batting order when they christen the new park. Ramirez is a stud who turns just 31 this June.
The discussion around Ramirez is two fold. First, would moving him lead to Hanley Ramirez becoming a third baseman full time? And, secondly, why would the Marlins take on Aramis Ramirez's contract?
Aramis is due just over $15.5 million each of the next two years, which is roughly $10 million more than Hanley in 2009 and $8 million in 2010. But that's where, and how, Aramis makes sense for Florida.
Aramis has a player option to get out of his contract after 2010 and the club would have an option before 2012, thereby opening up cap space for the Marlins in the future when Hanley would be due the lion's share of his deal.
Option B would take more outside-the-box thinking than the most recent regimes in Florida have displayed, but the franchise has shown the stones to make the blockbuster before. Anyone remember the uber deal that had names like Sheffield and Piazza involved in it?
St. Louis Cardinals
As a Cubs fan, I quiver at the thought of Ramirez and Albert Pujols playing next to each other outside of an All Star game. But, if St. Louis wants to keep their superstar happy, they might need to find him a Robin to his Batman.
The scary part of this is that the Cardinals might have some pieces to make a deal happen.
The Deal
St. Louis sends OF Ryan Ludwick, SS Khalil Greene and pitcher Mitchell Boggs to Florida for Ramirez.
On the surface, none of these names are as sexy as Aramis Ramirez would be in return, but the stock of Ludwick (and his $3.7 million contract) are attractive. Considering Greene has just one year left on his deal, and Boggs has a cannon for an arm, this deal might look more like the deals of the recent Marlins' history than either of the proposed Cubs deals.
LA Angels of Anaheim
The third team we'll look at is the Angels, who have always been openly affectionate towards marquis talent. They might be the most willing to part with a lot to get Ramirez, too.
The Deal
the Angels send 2B Howie Kendrick, 3B Brandon Wood, and SP Ervin Santana to Florida for Ramirez.
In the same line as the Cubs deal with Miles, Kendrick gives the Marlins a replacement for Uggla after/during/before 2009; Kendrick is a significantly better option than Miles, though.
Meanwhile, Wood could be a nice young corner infielder to build around as well, while Santana would bolster a young rotation at the ripe old age of 26. I could also see Jered Weaver's name in the place of Santana's in this deal.
In all, if Ramirez truly wants out of Florida, the line will be miles long to acquire the superstar. The price will be steep, as it should be, but there will certainly be a number of teams that could be willing to pay for the young stud.
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