Guardians, 3B Jose Ramirez reportedly agree to 5-year, $124 million extension
Third baseman Jose Ramirez has agreed to a five-year, $124 million contract extension with the Cleveland Guardians, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
BREAKING: Star third baseman José Ramirez and the Cleveland Guardians are in agreement on a five-year, $124M contract extension, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN. Deal includes full no-trade clause. With this year and pickup of a 2023 option, Ramirez is guaranteed $150M.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 6, 2022
Ramirez still has two years left on his current deal. He'll make $12 million in 2022, and $13 million on his club option in 2023. Combined with his contract extension, Ramirez is guaranteed nearly $150 million through 2028. The contract also reportedly includes a full no-trade clause.
This is the largest contract the Guardians have ever given out. The previous record was the three-year, $60 million contract they gave to Edwin Encarnacion in 2017. Encarnacion played in Cleveland for two seasons before being traded to the Mariners.
Ramirez, 29, was signed by the Guardians as an amateur free agent in 2009. He debuted in 2013 and got off to a relatively slow start, but once he played his first full season in the majors in 2016, he was off to the races. He's been an All-Star three times, won three Silver sluggers, and finished in the top three of American League MVP voting three times (2017, 2018, 2020). He played a huge role in helping the 2016 team make it to the World Series, where they lost in seven games to the Chicago Cubs. Ramirez was the last member of the 2016 team left on the Guardians.
There had been reports about the extension talks between Ramirez and Cleveland for days, but they were also mixed with trade rumors. The Toronto Blue Jays were reportedly pushing hard to acquire Ramirez, who is exactly the type of slugger that would fit perfectly into their lineup, and so were the San Diego Padres, who are continually looking for ways to upgrade their lineup to compete in the talented National League West.
The Guardians have been deep into conversations with teams in recent days about a José Ramirez trade — and the expectation was that if the sides didn’t come to terms on a long-term extension, he was going to be traded. The Padres thought they had a real shot at landing Ramirez.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 6, 2022
If Ramirez and the Guardians hadn't been able to reach an agreement on an extension, it's possible we could have seen a trade that would have sent Ramirez to Toronto or San Diego. Thankfully for Guardians fans, that's not the reality we live in. Ramirez will be staying put in Cleveland for years to come.
