Buster Olney:
1. How long will the Cleveland Guardians hang on to Jose Ramirez? He is widely appreciated for the relentlessness and fight in his plate appearances -- much in the same way that the Dodgers' Justin Turner is -- and for his range of skills. He is a very good defender, he gets on base a ton, he hits for power, he's a switch-hitter, and he can steal bases (averaging about 22 a year since the start of the 2016 season). In four of the past five years, Ramirez finished in the top six in the AL MVP voting.
But the Guardians will soon have to decide if and when to deal him, to maximize possible return in a trade, just as they did with CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee and Lindor. As Ramirez moves closer to the end of his contract, the deal is absurdly team friendly, without risk. Cleveland picked up his 2022 option for $12 million, and Ramirez has another club option in place for 2023, for $13 million.
The per-dollar return for the Guardians on Ramirez is so extraordinary, sources within the organization speculated in the past year that getting equal return for Ramirez in a trade is just about impossible, given how teams increasingly cling to their best prospects these days.
But for any team shifting into win-now mode, Ramirez would be a really, really attractive player. The Red Sox have quietly delved in the infield market this winter -- more on that later -- and Ramirez would be a perfect fit. Toronto's front office, with its Cleveland roots, knows Ramirez well, and the Blue Jays have to fill in the gap of production created with Semien's departure. Many other contenders, from the Mariners to the Dodgers to the Giants and others, would probably happily find room for Ramirez, if they could pry him away from Cleveland.
The Guardians have strong pitching and could try to contend, again. If they struggle in the first half of the 2022 season, it would make sense for them to earnestly listen to Ramirez offers at the deadline -- or next winter at the latest. It's always possible, given how team-friendly his deal is, that the Guardians and Ramirez could explore an extension that would get him paid sooner. Ramirez is 29.
