There are people who call him a loser.
It feels much more complicated than that to me
On Sunday, Ramírez signed a deal that at first glance feels like a joke in today’s baseball world. A few days after the Dodgers gave Kyle Tucker $60 million per year, and the Mets gave Bo Bichette $42 million per year, the Guardians and Ramírez agreed to a seven-year, $175 million deal. Simple math tells you that’s $25 million a year for one of the greatest third basemen in baseball history, a surefire Hall of Famer at age 33. In baseball terms, that’s Carlos Rodón’s money. It’s Trevor Story money. It’s Aaron Nola money. It’s Xander Bogaerts’ money. It’s not far from Christian Walker’s money.
I don’t want to offend all those good players: it’s not José Ramírez.
My default position is to seethe when a player signs a deal that is vastly below market price, not because the players will struggle financially with a few million dollars less, but because every million that doesn’t go to them goes into the pockets of a billionaire owner who would NEVER give up a dime in his own profession out of loyalty, love of his hometown, or out of reverence for history. The Dolan family, which owns the team and is worth more than $5 billion, famously kept Cleveland’s payroll as low as possible and cried poor before shipping out icons like Francisco Lindor.
It really bothers me when they make money off the loyalty of someone like José Ramírez.
And let’s not underestimate how much money Ramírez will have left on the table. According to Fangraphs estimates, he did al Brought in $461 million in baseball value. When this contract expires and Ramírez is expected to retire, he will have received $272 million. There’s a good chance he’ll get paid $300 million less than he’s worth over his career.
You may know that Ramírez already has the highest MVP share in baseball history for someone who hasn’t won an MVP.
When he retires, he will likely be the most underpaid player in baseball history, money-wise.
Okay, but like I said, this is complicated. The deal that Ramírez signed on Sunday is not easily calculated at $25 million per year. To see:
- He had already signed for the next three years for $69 million – $23 million per year. This will therefore give him a small but meaningful pay increase for the next three years.
Starting in 2029 – the year Ramirez turns 37 – he will get three more years at $25 million per year. We have absolutely no idea how good of a player he will be at age 37, but I mean, Albert Pujols was a sub-replacement level player at age 37, Scott Rolen was a replacement level player, and David Wright was retired.
Ramirez has a no-trade clause that I think he will use vigorously if necessary, meaning he will – if he wants – spend his entire career with Cleveland. And that’s exactly what he wants. Take a look at what his agent, Rafa Nieves, posted:
Rafa Nieves@mlb_agent
They gave him $106 million for his age of 36 to 40, three years early. The highest paid 36 year old FA in history is Jose Abreu at 3 years $58.5 million. The deal brings his total career earnings to $272 million, and it also comes with a statue in CF, his number retired, a first ballot HOF entry
Guardians future @CleGuardPro
@ChuckNaso The hate is real @mlb_agent, 🤣
9:11 PM January 24, 2026 · 141K views
24 answers · 62 Repost · 785 Likes
It’s clear his agent will do what he can to defend this deal. But I think this is largely correct. Ramírez WILL get a statue in centerfield (or somewhere in the park), and he WILL retire his number, and he WILL, I’m pretty sure, be elected to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Those kinds of things are important.
I wouldn’t praise a team for massively underpaying a player as big, important and beloved as Ramírez, but that ship had already sailed long before this deal was signed. He would end his career underpaid anyway. And while this deal doesn’t balance the scales, there is an unexpected sweetness to it. The Guardians certainly didn’t need to give Ramirez a long-term contract now that he’s 34 years old and has three very affordable years left on his contract. The ruthless thing you could do would be to let him play out his contract and sign him on a year-to-year basis after 2028, or let him play elsewhere for whatever contract he could muster. There isn’t much of a market for 37-year-old third basemen.
But instead, the Guardians turned Ramirez into a lifelong Cleveland legend. They ensured that he would forever be one of the city’s true sports heroes, along with Jim Brown, LeBron James, Bob Feller, Duane Kuiper and Bernie Kosar. That’s what José Ramírez craved, and the team gave it to him. Sure, it’s cliché to say that some things are worth more than money, but it’s also true, and it makes my heart sing knowing that Ramírez will wear a Cleveland uniform every game of his professional baseball life.
Fourteen days (!) until the pitchers and catchers report, and here’s your daily joy splash:
Why do you like baseball?
Brilliant reader Tom: Because Rick Manning was there 44 years ago to tell me about the game, and he’ll be back again this spring to tell me about it again. Go guards!
#worth #money