The seven-time All-Star recently signed another extension with the team, despite having three years left on his current contract, meaning he will likely be a Guardian for the rest of his career.
While sitting with MLB insider Mike Rodriguez on his podcast three years ago, Ramirez explained that he signed his original extension because he and his family felt “comfortable” in Cleveland, and that money wasn’t the driving factor.
Could Jose Ramirez’s loyalty to Guardians keep him from winning a World Series?
Since becoming an everyday player for the Guardians in 2016 at the age of 23, Ramirez began his reign as one of the best third basemen in baseball. Ramirez would finish third in MVP voting and win the Silver Slugger award in 2017 and 2018, then finish in the top 10 for MVP voting in six consecutive seasons (2020-25) and add four more Silver Sluggers (six in total) to his resume.
Despite his loyalty to the organization, the Guardians did not field the best team around their franchise player, reaching the World Series just once in his thirteen seasons (losing to the Chicago Cubs in 2016) and performing poorly in the playoffs since.6-17).
The Guardians enter 2026 with virtually the same roster as 2025, with some minor adjustments. After barely winning the American League Central against the Detroit Tigers, the Guardians’ path to winning their second straight division title could be the same as others in their division, as the Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins haven’t done much to move the needle.
More than likely, Ramirez will have another MVP-type season, but the Guardians’ inability to add this this offseason will force them to do so at the trade deadline, which they are not known to do. At the deadline last season, it was mostly sellers, trading RHP Shane Bieber to the Toronto Blue Jays for RHP Khal Stephen.
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