Dodgers get Hanley Ramirez in deal with Marlins
Seeking to revive a stagnant offense, the Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired third baseman Hanley Ramirez and reliever Randy Choate from the Miami Marlins in exchange for pitcher Nathan Eovaldi and a minor leaguer, a source familiar with the trade said late Tuesday night.
Ramirez will play shortstop for the Dodgers in the short term until Dee Gordon recovers from a torn thumb ligament, then move to third base.
The trade is the second in two days for the underachieving Marlins, who dealt second baseman Omar Infante and pitcher Anibal Sanchez to the Detroit Tigers on Monday.
Ramirez, 28, is batting .246 with 14 home runs and 47 RBIs for the Marlins. He was moved off shortstop this winter, when the Marlins acquired Jose Reyes in an attempt to remake the club in its inaugural season at Marlins Park. The rebuild has not worked.
The Dodgers believe the skilled Ramirez will benefit from the change of scenery and recapture the form that made the three-time All-Star one of the National League’s better players at the end of the last decade. They will assume all of Ramirez’s contract, or about $38 million through the 2014 season.
Choate, a veteran left-hander, has a 2.49 ERA in 44 appearances for the Marlins.
The Marlins, who received top-rated pitching prospect Jacob Turner from the Tigers, continued to rework their pitching staff. Eovaldi is a 22-year-old right-hander who was 1-6 with a 4.15 ERA in 10 starts for the Dodgers. From Nolan Ryan’s hometown of Alvin, Texas, Eovaldi was one of the team’s premier prospects.
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