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July 25, 2012

Transaction Analysis

Hanley Goes to Hollywood UPDATED

by Colin Wyers, R.J. Anderson and Kevin Goldstein

IN THIS ISSUE

National League

Miami Marlins
Los Angeles Dodgers

According to Yahoo's Tim Brown, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi, and numerous other reports, the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to acquire Hanley Ramirez and Randy Choate for Nathan Eovaldi and Scott McGough. If and when the trade is announced and/or the details are finalized, we'll update this post.

MIAMI MARLINS
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Acquire RHP Nathan Eovaldi and RHP Scott McGough from the Los Angeles Dodgers for 3B-R Hanley Ramirez and LHP Randy Choate. [7/24]

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31 comments have been left for this article.

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Richard Bergstrom

(36532)

I see trades like this and I can't understand Yankee haters. Loria should've been booed out of the sport a decade ago.

Jul 25, 2012 01:32 AM

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rating: 7

smallmanoncampus

(63375)

What does this have to do with the Yankees?

Jul 25, 2012 01:55 AM

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rating: 5

Shaun P.

(676)

I'm guessing - let me repeat, guessing - its a reference to so many people bemoaning the Yanks "buying championships" and "buying every All Star free agent" and spending more money than every other team put together.

In other words, while you might not like the Yanks spending $200M+/season on payroll, at least you never ever see them abandoning ship just to save cash. I think its quite a relevant and true point.

Jul 25, 2012 07:22 AM

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rating: 13

Richard Bergstrom

(36532)

That's basically it, Shaun. The Yankees, year in and year out, try to do whatever it takes to win and I can't understand why people get more upset about that than Loria.

Jul 25, 2012 08:31 AM

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rating: 3

Chucko

(67674)

I'll give 'em credit: buying everything in order to win is absolutely cooler than selling everything knowing you'll therefore lose. Though while one is morally superior (IMHO), both are tiresome to behold from the outside, and particularly so as the number of repetitions increases.

Jul 25, 2012 12:17 PM

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rating: 3

Pat Folz

(6254)

"...in theory the club could use the cash freed up to retool the team in the offseason..." Sure, OR use it to do legal battle with the SEC :p

I used to be something of a Marlins apologist. "They signed Carlos Delgado!" "The Beckett trade was defensible!" No more. To hell with this team.

Jul 25, 2012 02:19 AM

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rating: 7

bheikoop

(32208)

Didn't they trade Beckett for Hanley? That worked out pretty well in terms of a return on investment. Let's see what they get for Hanley.

Jul 25, 2012 08:24 AM

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ddufourlogger

(6816)

Going to be really hard to get fannies in those new seats now. All they did this offseason....new stadium....and Loria has them blow it up in a week. How glad do you think Albert is right NOW that he signed elsewhere??

Jul 25, 2012 12:13 PM

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saint09

(47194)

I'll assume the Yankee reference is in relation to Loria pocketing Yankee tax dollars.

Jul 25, 2012 02:48 AM

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GoTribe06

(25189)

When I read the Yankees comment I thought he was referring to the Yankees commitment of every resource to acquiring the best talent in hopes of maintaining a championship team. They have moved in a slightly more conservative direction since Hank took over, but the Yankees are not selling off their popular players.

Count me among those who get frustrated at the ability of the Yankees to pick from the top of the FA list every year, but I would rather have them in my league than the Marlins.

Jul 25, 2012 04:31 AM

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rating: 3

Richard Bergstrom

(36532)

Yep that's what I meant about the Yankees. Yes, they've gotten a bit more conservative, but year in and year out no one ever questions that they try to win.

You'd think people would admire that in a capitalist society, but the problem with winning is it can create some upset losers.

Jul 25, 2012 08:44 AM

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Sharky

(12101)

I don't get the vitriol. Hanley was very expensive, seemed to sulk, and his production was way off all-star levels. The Marlins got out from under a bad contract. The Dodgers, on the other hand, just throw around TV money. They become the new Yankees (maybe that's Richard's point).

Jul 25, 2012 04:13 AM

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rating: 11

JoshC77

(31796)

I agree. A look at Hanley's career numbers and one has to wonder that when he retires, if we will go back and say he peaked at age 24. Not saying he can't rebound, but his name value right now is far bigger than his actual production.

The Dodgers are taking a gamble, but one a big market team with money (finally) can afford to make.

Jul 25, 2012 04:20 AM

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cdmyers

(34972)

This. It isn't AA dumping Vernon Wells, but it is dumping a big contract that seems well down the road towards going bad to a team that's willing to take a gamble in order to make the playoffs this year.

I suspect that the vitriol is coming from a deep distrust of the Marlins. Dumping bad contracts is good if the money goes back into the team. If it just goes back to Loria (or the SEC), who cares?

Jul 25, 2012 05:43 AM

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rating: 3

Richard Bergstrom

(36532)

A bad Ramirez is still better than a lot of shortstops and third basemen, which is why the Dodgers acquired him.

I don't consider the Dodgers the new Yankees though. They need to show, year in and year out, that they're committed to winning. Right now, it's just a honeymoon period with ownership. If anything, the closest thing to the "new Yankees" might be the Angels who also try to win each year, payroll be damned. Sure, other teams also try to win like the Rangers, Rays, etc but the Angels buy up the free agent market a lot going back to the Gary Matthews Jr days.

Jul 25, 2012 08:50 AM

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eighteen

(1432)

A bad Ramirez is indeed better than a lot of SS/3B's, but not a bad Ramirez making $15m/yr.

Jul 25, 2012 13:58 PM

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Richard Bergstrom

(36532)

Ramirez is still young enough to have some upside, and it makes the honeymoon with the new owners that much sweeter. He may still underperform and be overpaid, but with players like Kemp etc locked into long term contracts, it's not like the Dodgers will be crippled by taking on Hanley for a few years.

Jul 25, 2012 17:48 PM

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Pat Folz

(6254)

For me, two things. One, I don't think he's really declined that much. His secondary skills are all still there -- power, walks, and steals. His BA and BABIP are well below career norms and he's still a league-average (or slightly above) hitter per TAv, wOBA, and OPS. If his BA bounces back even a little, which is likely, he's at least solidly above average, with some possibility of getting back to elite territory.

Two, they said this was the year, things have changed, they have a new stadium and a new commitment to fielding a championship team! Yeah, that lasted like 90 games. They're 8 games out in the Wild Card despite Reyes and Ramirez having subpar seasons and Johnson and Bell sucking ass. They could plausibly get back in it this year and would have been a favorite again next year, even without any major moves. Instead they dumped one of their best players -- and the closest thing they had to a homegrown star -- for a #4/5 starter and a Tim Collins starter kit. Oh, and "payroll flexibility," snicker.

Jul 25, 2012 11:29 AM

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JoshC77

(31796)

Just a thought, but gotta wonder if the Marlins are regretting the Carlos Lee deal. He didn't get them any closer and now they trade Hanley. Not only that, but their heir apparent at 3b in Matt Dominguez was traded to the Astros in the Lee deal.

Jul 25, 2012 05:04 AM

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rating: 11

Hendo

(24750)

The firesale Marlins of the past at least waited until they'd bought themselves a World Series win before they burned the team down.

Not that I don't wish Loria everything that's coming to him -- and that's coming from a Nationals fan, whose town probably still wouldn't have a team were it not for Loria's malfeasance, enabled by Selig and 28 other owners. But vitriol aside, in this case, there never was much to burn down on this 2012 Marlins squad. Jettisoning an increasingly dead weight to try to buoy the overall system makes sense.

Jul 25, 2012 07:15 AM

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rating: 3

Richard Bergstrom

(36532)

The Marlins didn't need to wait for a World Series. They got their shiny new, publicly financed stadium which, at worst, increases the value of the franchise.

Jul 25, 2012 08:47 AM

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rating: 6

PeterBNYC

(15402)

One unintended benefit from a Mets fan- we will now see whether Jose Reyes can really carry a team, or if he is just going to be stranded with a meaningless (but lucrative) career in South Florida, with a bad team always "rebuilding", and without a ring to be seen to the end of time. (This is what's called schadenfreude, folks).

Jul 25, 2012 09:28 AM

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Randy Brown

(189)

What did Jose Reyes do to you? The Mets didn't even offer him a contract. What was he supposed to do, stay in Flushing for the league minimum?

Jul 25, 2012 09:59 AM

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rating: 10

jtwalsh

(1154)

Colin, RJ, and Kevin,

I quick Thank You to all for offering us these real time TAs. I realize it must be difficult to get this analysis out so quickly, but I think it is more valuable when the transaction itself is so new. Kudos.

Jul 25, 2012 11:13 AM

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rating: 13

eighteen

(1432)

WRF is going on in Miami's front office? First, they trade mediocre-but-cheap talent to acquire mediocre-but-expensive Carlos Lee; now they do a salary dump to acquire spare parts.

Can anyone see a plan there?

Jul 25, 2012 13:57 PM

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marshaja

(16270)

I don't really get it. I have no problem with the Marlins getting rid of Hanley as he has regressed, but surely there was a better deal out there.

Jul 25, 2012 14:53 PM

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jfive613

(68328)

Great turnaround on all of the trade evaluations so far. Very impressive guys.

This trade makes sense on both sides. Marlins got out of a contract that was starting to become a hindrance and the Dodgers didn't give up much to pick up a needed bat.

Hopefully Hanley has something left to offer, but he is trending in the wrong direction. I know his BABIP is way below career norms, but I am starting to think that the stat is being way overused.

Now we just need to see what the Marlins do this off season with the savings. I just hope for the franchise's sake attendance picks up a bit.

Jul 25, 2012 14:54 PM

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CalledStrike3

(2881)

Note of interest:
Hanley's 1st game in Dodger Blue will be at 3B ... I think Donnie Baseball has taken a liking to Luis Cruz at SS.

Jul 25, 2012 15:45 PM

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CalledStrike3

(2881)

I forgot: Luis Cruz' TAV .258

Jul 25, 2012 15:48 PM

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frampton

(870)

Well, cf. Ramirez at .267, and especially Uribe at .195. Does look like Don picked the two best out of the three . . .

Jul 25, 2012 20:22 PM

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mtmannin

(20943)

Showtime must be very excited about this for The Franchise. Can't wait to see the players' reaction

Jul 25, 2012 17:44 PM

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rating: 0

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