3 ways Guardians must immediately respond to viral full-page José Ramírez ad

Earlier this week, a Guardians fan took out a full-page ad in the Cleveland Plain Dealer urging Guardians ownership to either spend around José Ramírez  or sell the team. While the Guardians’ fanbase being upset with Paul Dolan’s ownership is nothing new, the ad seems to have struck a serious chord among Cleveland faithful.

With that, here are three moves the Guardians’ front office can make to quell the unrest brewing with the Guardians’ fanbase. 

The Guardians need to make these three moves to capitalize on José Ramírez’s prime

Extend Travis Bazzana

While Bazzana hasn’t contributed to any major league winning yet, it’s only a matter of time until he gets a shot at the major league level for the Guardians. And what better way to have that happen then by having him do it while already being signed to an extension? 

Although the list of players who have signed an extension before playing in the bigs features some contracts that teams would like to take back, signed Bazzana to an extension that goes through his arbitration-eligible years would be a great way for Cleveland’s frugal ownership to find a way to save some money before Bazzana breaks out. 

While signing Steven Kwan to an extension is still the front office’s white whale, locking Bazzana down long-term would be an obvious way for the front office to signal that they’re interested in extending Cleveland’s contention window. 

Sign a top-tier free agent outfielder 

Earlier this week we outlined why Harrison Bader stands out as a potential free agent outfield target for the Guardians. Which is fine, Bader’s a quality outfielder and he’d be better than Johnathan Rodríguez or Jhonkensy Noel. But he’s not the best option out there. 

No, that distinction belongs to Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger, while Bader, Trent Grisham and Mike Yastrzemski stand out as the 1b options. While Tucker likely will be out of the Guardians’ price range because of his desire to ink a long-term contract, Bellinger (who is expected to opt-out of his contract this offseason) has signed short-term contracts since entering free agency, so he could be more open to signing a shorter-term contract with a higher AAV. 

Outfield help stands out as a clear need for the Guardians, so adding a veteran bat would help bring some much-needed pop to the outfield while also providing a mentor for the team’s young budding stars. 

Bring in one more impact bullpen arm 

While Cade Smith held down the fort admirably after Emmanuel Clase was suspended, his suspension tested the bullpen depth down the stretch in a way that was masked a bit by the starting rotation’s dominance. 

And even if the back-end of the bullpen is in good hands thanks to Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Erik Sabrowski, they still need to add one more veteran arm to add to Stephen Vogt’s trust tree.

And, luckily for them, this year’s free agent class features plenty of players who fit that bill. Bringing in an established set up man like Phil Maton, Shawn Armstong or Hoby Milner could end up making the difference between a quick postseason exit and a long run through October.