Jose Ramirez Signs Team-Friendly Deal to Stay in Cleveland

The Cleveland Guardians did the unthinkable. Paul Dolan has opened up his checkbook and resigned star third baseman Jose Ramirez to a 5 year, 124 million dollar extension. I’m going to be honest, I gave this signing a zero percent chance of happening. Dolan has been one of the stingiest owners in pro sports, and he’s previously run so much star talent out of Cleveland, that it felt like Jose would become another name on a long list of could have beens.

With this extension in place, Ramirez has to be the face of Cleveland sports. Jose could have easily left Cleveland and signed for significantly more money, but the man wanted to stay in Cleveland. Mr. Lapara is only making 24.8 million a year on this extension according to Spotrac, which isn’t a contract that will handcuff this organization for years to come. I expected him to sign for closer to 35 million a year and with a term length closer to 7 years. This signing is a steal.

Most importantly, this signing may have saved Cleveland baseball. I’m not sure excitement levels for a team have ever been lower with the Dolan’s not signing a single new player and an unpopular name change this offseason (I like Guardians but that's neither here nor there). Fans had finally had enough and they were close to losing some Clevelanders for the rest of time. This move shows that Dolan might almost care more about winning than his bottom line. 

However, the job's not finished to save this team, more moves have to be done. The Guardians will still be rolling out a AA caliber outfield and a bullpen filled with a whole bunch of questions marks. If Guardians' GM, Mike Chernoff, can package some minor league prospects like Tyler Freeman and Bo Naylor, they might be able to acquire a true bat for the outfield, or a high-quality bullpen arm. 

Today’s not the day to worry about those moves. For once in Cleveland, we have a star player who wants to stay in Cleveland their whole career. Time and time again, Jose Ramirez’s agent said that the GOAT wanted to stay in Cleveland. He loved the organization, the city, and most importantly, the fans. He didn’t lie to our faces, he spoke what he truly wanted and luckily, Dolan opened up the checkbook. Let’s get ready for some Guardians baseball.

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