Could José Ramírez become the Cleveland Guardians' all-time home run king?

José Ramírez has gotten off to a solid start four games into the season, with a home run and four RBI - and a second home run that was stolen from him on Saturday thanks to a great defensive play from Oakland outfielder JJ Bleday.

But with that one actual homer, Ramírez now has 217 home runs in his career with Cleveland, which surpassed Carlos Santana's and Hal Trosky's 216 and put Ramírez in fifth place all-time in franchise history. So naturally, we need to ask the question: Could José Ramírez eventually become Cleveland's all-time home run king?

Could José Ramírez One Day Pass Jim Thome on Cleveland's Home-Run List?

First things first, let's see where Ramírez could eventually find himself this season. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Ramirez could conceivably find himself in third or even second place if he has a great 2024 season. Manny Ramirez currently sits there with 236 home runs as a Cleveland Indian. Albert Belle is second all-time with 242 (the 90s sure were great, weren't they?). So third place is very much in play this year, and second place isn't out of reach, either.

Now, for the kahuna on the list: Jim Thome. He had 337 home runs in Cleveland, which, as of right now, is 120 homers ahead of Ramírez.

At first glance, it's entirely possible Ramírez one day reaches that mark. If he averaged 25 home runs over the next five years, that would put him comfortably over the threshold. To put it in perspective, Ramírez has hit 25 or more home runs four times in his career, and just missed doing it again in 2023. So assuming health isn't a factor, Ramirez really just needs to keep doing what he's always done.

Here's the other interesting thing that could play a factor: Ramírez is signed through 2028, giving him exactly five more seasons (including this one) to hit the mark. If he's close by the end of his contract, who knows what the team might do in terms of signing him at 35 years old to try to cross it. And, depending on where the team is at by that point, one wonders if Ramírez won't be traded (yes, it could happen). There are multiple potential obstacles to reaching this milestone, but we can worry about those at a future time.

With the absurdly team-friendly contract that he signed, this really does feel like destiny for Ramírez and the franchise. What better way to celebrate the guy who loves the organization so much than with the franchise home-run crown?