7 bold predictions for the Cleveland Guardians in 2024

7. Jose Ramirez wins American League MVP

There is one player in Major League Baseball who has been identified as one of the game's best and has been in MVP discussions but has not yet won the elusive award. Jose Ramirez. That changes this year.

If there was ever an opportunity for Ramirez to win the American League’s Most Valuable Player Award, it is 2024. Shohei Ohtani is now in the National League. Mike Trout has not appeared in more than 120 games in the last three seasons. If second and third-place-finishing Texas Ranger teammates Corey Seager and Marcus Semien keep cannibalizing votes from each other, it keeps a path open for Ramirez.

The best third baseman in all of baseball should have a little more help this season. Last year saw Ramirez being pitched around a lot last year, leading the majors in intentional walks for the second straight season. The removal of multiple offensive black holes from 2023 (Mike Zunino, Myles Straw, Cam Gallagher) should result in a lineup that performs better on a collective basis. This means that Ramirez should get more pitches to hit, resulting in a more productive year from a statistical standpoint. This matters when it comes to MVP voting, as players on teams that have issues offensively outside of the candidate rarely finish high, much less win.

A year of gaudy offensive numbers from Ramirez in a season that the AL MVP race will be very wide open will give him a chance to be Cleveland’s first MVP since Al Rosen in 1953.