The Cleveland Indians have the ability to swing a blockbuster trade before the deadline by moving Jose Ramirez.
A new team would get him in 2021, with two club options remaining in 2022 and 2023.
In return, the Indians would get a haul of top prospects and likely some MLB-ready talent.
None of this comes as a surprise to anyone.
Ramirez is an MVP-caliber player and the Indians are lucky to have him on a team-friendly deal with team control through 2023.
Yet his name continues to come up in rumors because, well, this is the Indians we are talking about.
They are always moments away from moving top talent.
MLB insider Jon Heyman recently touched upon the Ramirez rumors in a way that had some Twitter users dunking on him in the replies.
Not a surprise Indians would have to be overwhelmed to trade José Ramirez. More interesting that he isn’t untouchable. https://t.co/I0TbVo53Ad
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 19, 2021
The obvious here is that the Indians would need a major offer to even consider trading Ramirez.
The interesting point here, however, is that Heyman mentions Ramirez isn’t untouchable in trade talks.
Ramirez’s Current Status
It would truly be a shock if the Indians traded Ramirez this year.
The team has dealt with countless injuries, only to remain in the playoff hunt.
That proves the talent is there to compete over the course of Ramirez’s remaining years in town.
Then there is the obvious fact the team could and should have interest in offering him a major extension.
While that has seemed unlikely in the past, recent reports have indicated it is indeed possible.
Some new individuals joining the ownership group could help add some money to the mix.
There is also just no rush on such a decision.
wRC+ leaders among 3B in MLB:
147 – Justin Turner
139 – Rafael Devers
131 – Yoan Moncada
129 – Jose Ramirez— Blake Harris (@BlakeHarrisTBLA) July 18, 2021
This is something the Indians will need to deal with following the 2022 season, as they still hold all the control to pick up the options.
Ideally, the Indians would just give Ramirez an extension this offseason and forget about the option years.
That would just be out of character, barring any changes in philosophy by ownership.
Star Of The Show
The Indians remain in contention both in the division and in the American League Wild Card race.
Trading Ramirez would signal to the entire organization that they have given up on 2021.
It just doesn’t seem like a logical move, regardless of the realistic offers that could come in.
If the Indians do plan to extend Ramirez, all these trade calls can simply be ignored.
Francisco Lindor ended up signing a $341 million deal with the New York Mets.
Ramirez has a market value of right over $200 million, according to Spotrac.
The Indians could even offer him around $150 million on a shorter-term deal and see if he wants to sign that.
The odds of that could be good considering he already signed one team-friendly deal in his career.
Trade talks also arise this time of year, but a Ramirez deal would truly be the most shocking and demoralizing in recent memory.
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