Call to the pen
Fansided

Why the Cleveland Guardians should (but won’t) trade José Ramírez

By Noah Yingling

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 03: Jose Ramirez #11 of the Cleveland Indians is greeted by teammates after scoring a run in the third inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on October 03, 2021 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 03: Jose Ramirez #11 of the Cleveland Indians is greeted by teammates after scoring a run in the third inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on October 03, 2021 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OH – AUGUST 29: Jose Ramirez #11 of the Cleveland Indians in action against the Boston Red Sox during the game at Progressive Field on August 29, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – AUGUST 29: Jose Ramirez #11 of the Cleveland Indians in action against the Boston Red Sox during the game at Progressive Field on August 29, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

The Guardians, even with Ramírez, have one of the worst offenses in all of baseball, though. In 2021, they had a team OPS+ of 93, which was 21st in baseball … and that is with Ramírez’s 141 OPS+. Franmil Reyes and Myles Straw (who they acquired at the trade deadline) were the only two players to have an OPS+ of league average (100) or better among players that ended the season with the team and at least 200 at-bats with the team.

Is this the time for the Cleveland Guardians to start a rebuild?

The Chicago White Sox are already the class of the American League Central, but the Detroit Tigers have already made some big moves this offseason and are poised to make other moves, including signing one of the big name shortstops on the free agent market this offseason.

Unless Cleveland spends a lot of money this offseason (which they don’t often do), then they need to start their rebuild.

Ramírez only has two years left of team control as he has a team option for $11 million in 2022 and a $13 million team option for 2023. He then becomes a free agent. Right now is the perfect time to get a haul for him.

It should also be noted that the free agent market for third basemen is sparse. There’s Kris Bryant (124 OPS+ in 2021) but Ramírez is better. After Bryant, the next best options are Eduardo Escobar or Kyle Seager, both of which are far inferior to Ramírez.

Ramírez can also play second base and shortstop, although he hasn’t in recent seasons as he told Cleveland that he wants to play one position and not bounce around between positions and Cleveland wanted him at third. But showing the willingness to play another position could attract some other teams to him as well.

As Jim Bowden of The Athletic noted in this piece, Ramírez ranked in the 94th percentile in Statcast’s outs above average for third basemen, showing that he is a great defender at third too. But Bowden thinks that Cleveland will trade them. They should … but they won’t.

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