Report: Guardians, Ramirez agree to 5-year, $124M extension
The Cleveland Guardians and third baseman Jose Ramirez have agreed to a five-year, $124-million contract extension, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.
Ramirez's deal reportedly includes a full no-trade clause and guarantees the 29-year-old $150 million.
The reported contract more than doubles the three-year, $60-million deal Edwin Encarnacion signed in 2017 as the largest in club history, according to The Athletic's Zack Meisel.
With the Opening Day deadline for an extension inching closer, Cleveland was deep into conversations with other teams about a trade for Ramirez, Passan reports. If the two sides hadn't reached an agreement, the three-time Silver Slugger would've likely been traded, with the San Diego Padres believing they had a real chance at landing him.
A homegrown star, Ramirez has blossomed into one of MLB's premier players over the past few seasons, ranking third in FanGraphs' WAR among all position players behind only Mike Trout and Mookie Betts since 2017.
The three-time All-Star authored another terrific season in 2021, hitting .266/.355/.538 with 36 home runs, 27 stolen bases, and 103 RBIs in 152 games.
Ramirez finished as a finalist for AL MVP in 2017, 2018, and 2020 and owns a career .855 OPS with 163 home runs, 154 stolen bases, and 540 RBIs in 980 games.