Tito shoots down J-Ram trade rumors

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Guardians manager Terry Francona all but guaranteed that All-Star third baseman José Ramírez will be part of his team on Opening Day.

The trade rumors have been swirling -- as they have in years past -- about Ramírez and whether he’ll remain with Cleveland by April 7. But Francona isn’t concerned how the whispers will affect Ramírez, considering he’s been through this before. Plus, the skipper is confident his third baseman knows he’s unlikely to go anywhere any time soon.

“I think José knows how we feel about him,” Francona said. “In this age of blogging and the Internet, there is so much out there that we could make ourselves crazy. I hope it doesn’t make him crazy. I don’t think it does.”

The Guardians insisted early in the offseason that the team would have financial flexibility in 2022 to make some necessary additions to its roster. However, as Opening Day has gotten closer and the organization has been relatively quiet with trades or free-agent signings, it caused more questions about whether or not the club was going to choose to shop Ramírez. But Francona was prepared to shoot down all speculation.

“I would ink Josey in the three-hole, to answer your question,” Francona said of his lineup card.

Ramírez received at least a handful of American League MVP votes in five of the past six seasons, including three top-three finishes. In that span, he was also named to three All-Star Games and took home three AL Silver Slugger Awards.

Aside from a difficult slump toward the end of 2018 that trickled into the first few months of '19, Ramírez’s bat has been the most consistent force in Cleveland’s lineup. He finished last season with a .266 average, an .893 OPS, 103 RBIs, 36 homers and 27 stolen bases – all reasons as to why the Guardians aren’t willing to part ways with him, at least not yet.

But the question that remains is where the team will go from here. Ramírez is on the books for 2022 after the Guardians picked up his $12 million option earlier in the offseason. He has another team option for '23 ($14 million), but if Cleveland sees him in its future plans, the club could attempt to extend his contract prior to Opening Day. Guardians ace Shane Bieber may also have these conversations.

“Without getting into specifics, I do think we'll have some of [those] internal conversations,” Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. “The timing of that is really hard to say when we'll be able to do that, just because of the compressed nature of the offseason.”