Guardians Commitment To Jose Ramirez Assures Fans They're Serious About Winning
Let's get one thing straight right off the bat - despite having one of the lowest payrolls in Major League Baseball, the Cleveland Guardians have always approached this season with the intention of winning.
But it's amazing how one move can change the entire perception of a fanbase.
On Wednesday morning, ESPN's Jeff Passan first reported that Jose Ramirez had agreed to a 5-year, $124 million extension (pending a physical) to become the highest paid player in franchise history.
Almost immediately, the nearly omnipresent complaining and bickering from fans on social media turned to mostly jubilation. The team finally dished out a contract to a player who is as deserving of a mega-deal as any that have played in Cleveland in the last 15 years.
I think it's a good deal for both sides. Signing players to huge contracts like these always come with substantial risk to the club, but Ramirez is still in his prime and there's no reason to think he can't continue to perform at the MVP-caliber level he's been playing at the last several seasons.
Meanwhile, while there is a chance Ramirez could have gotten more money on the open market, he really wanted to stay in Cleveland and is being paid $150M over the next seven years to be here. I think it's safe to say he left money on the table to get a full no-trade clause in the contract.
It's also an example of the two sides meeting in the middle. Suffice it to say that Ramirez's first offer and the team's first offer in last week's negotiations left a lot of middle ground to cover. The trade discussions with the Padres were very real (especially in the last 48 hours) and Ramirez made it clear he wanted to be a Guardian.
By making that kind of commitment to this organization, Ramirez is the face of the franchise and has drastically changed the tenor around town. Instead of being a team with "a bunch of prospects" making the big league team out of camp, now the Guardians have their best player locked up through his age-35 season and a promising group of young, controllable players that could be the cornerstone of building a pennant-contender in the near future.
It's a GREAT day to be a Guardians fan.
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