José Ramírez has chance to continue to pave Hall of Fame path with Guardians in 2026

Last month, former MLB outfielders Andruw Jones and Carlos Beltrán were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame thanks to voting from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

And while the ballot that the BWAA gets to vote on only consists of retired players who are eligible to be voted into the Hall of Fame, that vote was obvious reason to look at some Guardians players' Hall of Fame candidacies.

Earlier this week we focused on the Hall of Fame candidacy of former Guardians ace Corey Kluber, so we figured there was no better time to focus on an active player who is near and dear to Cleveland’s heart: José Ramírez. 

While we’ve written a lot about Ramírez over the past couple months due to the fact that he continues to look better and better when compared to some of the other stars of his generation, The Athletic’s Zack Mesiel quantified Ramírez's Hall of Fame case earlier this offseason (subscription required) by publishing a story focusing on Ramírez’s Hall of Fame case and just how close he is to reaching Cooperstown. 

José Ramírez continues to be on a Hall of Fame path for the Guardians 

The biggest thing that’s helped Ramírez grow his Hall of Fame résumé has been his longevity, as he’s arguably gotten better as he’s gotten older while some of his contemporaries have fallen off a cliff. 

Not only has Ramírez posted five straight seasons with 24+ home runs, 32+ doubles and 20+ steals, he’s been an All-Star in all of those seasons along with recording MVP votes. He’s also recorded three Silver Slugger Awards that were built by his overall stat stuffing. 

He’s stolen 40+ bases in each of the last two seasons and routinely ranks as one of baseball’s best at limiting strikeouts, so his game should continue to age gracefully.

He currently has 285 home runs and 287 steals, so he has a legitimate chance to become the ninth member of the 30/30 club at some point during the 2026 season. 

The biggest reason he’s been able to rack up stats like that has been his ability to stay on the field, as he’s only missed 25 games over the past five seasons while playing through a variety of injuries. 

When Ramírez was first called up by Cleveland, the team’s plan was for him to work as the kind of super utility player that Terry Francona loves. And while he ended up becoming a Francona favorite, it was because he blossomed into an All-Star third baseman with a Hall of Fame trajectory. 

That star turn came in 2016 when Ramírez posted a .312/.363/.462 slash line with 11 home runs and 76 RBI. He was an All-Star for the first time in 2017, and the rest is history. 

And you can’t talk about that history without talking about the team-friendly seven-year, $141 million contract extension he signed in Cleveland prior to the 2022 season.

Not only is it one of the most team-friendly deals in MLB history, but it also kept him in Cleveland long-term and all but confirmed that he’ll one day be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame.

In less than a month, the Guardians are going to head to Seattle to start an incredibly important 2026 campaign. It'll also be the start of what will hopefully be another fruitful season for one of the best players in Guardians history.