Cleveland Guardians: 3 reasons Cleveland won’t extend Jose Ramirez

3 reasons the Cleveland Guardians won’t extend Jose Ramirez

The Cleveland Guardians are a team that no one expects to spend money. Even when the ownerships says they will pay to make the inaugural season of the new moniker a success it becomes a “believe when we see it” statement. However, the team is sticking to their statement, at least so far.

We’re not at a point yet where the team has had a chance to prove that statement to be true, but when you look at the roster it starts to become clear that spending money is the only way to go. Whether it be keeping talent in Cleveland or filling gaps, the Guardians can’t be successful in 2022 and beyond unless the team can spend more money. One clear path to doing that is in-house extensions.

Plenty of players will be in the arbitration process for Cleveland during the upcoming season and that alone will cause payroll to increase. Shane Bieber, Franmil Reyes and others will start to warrant a higher price, but the one name that continuously is brought up in contract talks in fan circles is Jose Ramirez.

Following the Francisco Lindor trade, and perhaps even before, Ramirez has been the face of Cleveland baseball. The runner-up in the 2020 MVP voting, Ramirez has quietly become one of the top players in the game, and it’s been at a bargain price.

Ramirez’s original contract was a four-year deal worth just $26 million, averaging $6.5 million a season. Given his MVP production, that price will surely go up on his next deal. However, Cleveland’s history eludes to the idea that Ramirez’s next deal will be with a different team.

Whether or not Cleveland is set to spend money moving forward, Ramirez simply doesn’t fit the bill for what this organization typically extends or signs. Even with his high level of production, the long-term outlook for Jose Ramirez to remain in Cleveland might not be as bright as some might think.