Guardians must reward José Ramírez's faith after taking yet another hometown discount

All offseason, Cleveland Guardians fans have been clamoring for the front office to make some kind of move to sign one of their core players to a long-term deal.

That finally happened over the weekend, albeit in a way none of us expected.

Instead of signing Steven Kwan to an extension or starting talks with a young player like Kyle Manzardo or Parker Messick, the Guardians front office signed José Ramírez to a four-year, $106 million across four seasons that will keep him in Cleveland though 2032.

Not only is the deal a clear win for Guardians fans since it all but confirms that Ramírez will finish the rest of his career with Cleveland, but it's also a win for the rest of the roster since he took yet another below-market deal (with $70 million of the contract being deferred).

All of that makes one thing clear: The Guardians need to make another move to show Ramírez that he made the right decision.

The Guardians need to make use of they money they saved in José Ramírez's contract extension

It's hard to truly articulte how lucky the Guardians are that Ramírez is willing to stay in Cleveland on a discount. They were lucky when he agreed to a seven-year, $141 million extension before the 2022 season, and they're just as lucky now thanks to his new deal coming in at a below-market value.

He's a perennial MVP finalist, and ranks as one of the best third baseman in all of the sport. Normally a player of his caliber costs $300+ million, which is a salary the Guardians likely wouldn't be willing to pay. Instead, they're able to get him at a deal that fits in their price range.

But it's time for them to repurpose those savings for another move. While it's too late for them to make a big splash in free agency, they now have a golden opportunity to sign someone on their roster to an extension, with Kwan standing out as an obvious choice.

He's entering the prime of his career at 28 and already has two All-Star nods and four Gold Gloves under his belt. Although he's still under team control through the 2027 season via arbitration, his impending free agency is looming over the Guardians like a dark cloud.

The Guardians held off on dealing him at the trade deadline and Winter Meetings, but the tension around his impending free agency is only going to go away if the front office inks him to a long-term extension.

And it's not like he's the only extension worthy player on the Guardians either. Along with Manzardo and Messick, newly-minted closer Cade Smith stands out as a top-tier option given how his first season handling the ninth inning went.

For the second time in four years, the Guardians benefited from Ramírez's desire to play in Cleveland. Now they need to make good on the discount he gave them.