Guillen sees Ramirez as centerpiece

Hanley Ramirez has a "strong preference" to stay at shortstop, according to a major league source. His new manager with the Marlins, Ozzie Guillen, knows it. No matter. Guillen, in an interview with FOXSports.com Monday night, gave an emphatic, impassioned case for Ramirez not just to remain with the team, but remain its centerpiece. In fact, Guillen said just that to the Marlins' new shortstop, Jose Reyes, when they spoke Sunday night after Reyes agreed to a six-year, $106 million free-agent contract. "I talked to Reyes. I said, 'Thank you for being a part of this, a piece of the puzzle. But the puzzle is about Hanley Ramirez,'" Guillen said, recalling the conversation. "It's like playing chess when you protect the king and queen. That's what we're doing. I just want Hanley to understand that." Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria dismissed the idea that the Marlins would trade Ramirez, an idea that has baseball people buzzing at the winter meetings because of Ramirez's perceived unhappiness with moving to third base. "We're building a team," Loria said. "It's not about trading. I know what I want to do."