The Diamond Fan

While it has not been formally announced, it has been reported that the Florida Marlins have signed shortstop Hanley Ramirez to a six-year, $70 million contract.  This is a major move on the part of the Marlins, who have infamously blown up two World Series championship teams right after they won the Series in 1997 and 2003.  In the past, when the Marlins developed a star player such as Ramirez the question was not whether they were going to trade of the player before they had to start paying a star’s salary, but when and to whom.

The fact that they have locked up Ramirez until his age 30 season (and thus through what is likely to be the most productive phase of his career) signals not only that they think Ramirez is a player around which they can build a team, but they intend to actually build a team around him.  If indeed they have gotten serious about competing for the long haul, this could become one of the elite franchises in the National League.

Yesterday's blockbuster trade between the Tigers and the Marlins looks to me
like a win-win scenario. The Tigers had a team that was already a contender, and
adding one of the best young hitter in the game along with an established Major
League starter seems like a good move that should make the Tigers the favorite
in the tough AL Central Division. The Marlins, knowing they were not going to
re-sign their stars, got good value in return, with Andrew Miller and Cameron
Maybin both having a pretty good upside.

Cabrera is only 24, so he should have a number of great seasons still in him.
Putting him in the middle of the Tiger lineup along with Gary Sheffield and
Magglio Ordonez will make for a very productive offensive team. The Tigers
should immediately go to work signing him to a Pojols-like pre-free agency long
term deal. Dontrelle Willis is only 26, but being a pitcher his long term value
is much more problematic. Still, he fits nicely into the Tigers' rotation and
with any luck should be a valuable component on a winning ballclub.

As for the Marlins, as I said, they knew they weren't going to keep Cabrera &
Willis around much long, and the package of young players looks pretty good to
me. Andrew Miller got 13 starts for the contending Tigers last year at age 22
and went 5-5. barring injury he has top of the rotation potential for the next
several years. Maybin is a bona fide Major League talent. Whether he is a star
or not remains to be seem, but he should be fixture in Florida's starting lineup
for several years. If any of the additional players in the trade turn out, so
much the better for the Marlins.