The Guardians aren’t trading Jose Ramirez, at least yet

The Cleveland Guardians have no intention of trading Jose Ramirez.

Rumors started circulating this week that the Cleveland Guardians had received calls from the Toronto Blue Jays and a trade revolving around third basemen Jose Ramirez was being discussed. To an extent that was true, the Jays did call the Guardians and talk Ramirez.

Yet, it isn’t true that the Guardians were looking to move the MVP candidate and co-face of the franchise (alongside Shane Bieber). The Jays were apparently doing their due diligence and were interested in the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove-winning player. The Guardians have no interest in moving him, at least just yet.

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal is clear when he says he doesn’t see the Guardians moving on from Ramirez.

Want to keep Jose Ramirez? Demand the MLB put in salary caps and floors

Fans in Cleveland don’t like the Dolans and I understand their reasoning, I just think their anger is misplaced. The fanbase has largely been fairweather fans, but too many people only think about that eight-year span in the 90s-00s where there were sellouts every week. This isn’t like the Browns who were historically good until they weren’t.

No, The Guardians and even the Cavaliers, have notoriously been bad franchises over the decades they’ve been in the city. It’s only recently (the 80s for Cavs, the 90s for Guardians), that the stigmas of those two clubs have faded away.

This is all to say that the Guardians are not a very profitable franchise; compared to other teams in the league. They rank in the bottom 10 in revenue and have for years. The Guardians were 27th in value; heading into 2016. Then they went to the World Series. Where were they with the 2017 reports? 27th.

The issue is with the revenue sharing and then the lack of a cap.

For some context as to how the MLB shares revenue for the SB Nation Detroit Tiger website (Bless You Boys)

"MLB needs some form of sharing local revenues, because the revenue generated during the regular season is mostly local, and there is an enormous disparity in money generated between a market like Los Angeles or New York, and that of Pittsburgh or Kansas City. In the NFL, all the games are broadcast nationally, and all the television revenue is divided evenly. So when the Packers are playing the Cowboys, the Lions get an equal cut of the TV revenue, for example."

For the Guardians to be players in free agency and to re-sign players, there would need to be some changes, namely a salary cap and floor, and better revenue sharing. Cleveland doesn’t generate the same revenue as New York or San Francisco; so it’s not surprising to see those teams constantly getting guys. It’s an unfair system that favors the more popular teams.

Teams like Cleveland and Tampa Bay make do with what they have but they’re routinely are at the bottom of the pile. Even when the teams are good fans don’t sell out the stadiums. Maybe that’s because of marketing, or due to a lack of interest in the sport; but regardless, the Guardians are behind the eight-ball, so to speak, when it comes to having funds available for signing guys.

Baseball needs a salary cap to keep teams like New York and Los Angeles from killing the market. Top-flight free agents aren’t worth $30 million, not really. They impact the game so minimally compared to say hockey or basketball. Most teams can’t afford to put a fifth of their payroll into one guy.

They also need a salary floor to make owners spend money. Personally, I like the Dolans and they’ve opened up their wallet a time or two when needed, they’re just not going to dump $300 million on Francisco Lindor, because why would you? Amed Rosario had near-identical stats to Lindor and at a fraction of the cost.

I agree with this business model. That said, a guy like Ramirez or Bieber should be retained. The problem is that Ramirez will want a six or seven-year deal at the same rate, regardless of age or production. That will handcuff the Guardians for years and derail a few seasons. Look at the Tigers, they’re drowning in Miguel Cabrera’s contract. That was a bad investment.

They’re paying him $30 million at least for the next four years. If guys took shorter contracts, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more money thrown at guys in their prime.

For now, Ramirez is a Guardian, but for how long is anyone’s guess. He’ll likely be gone sooner rather than later, but when he is gone, blame the structure of the league. It’s the sole reason that this keeps happening. But as long as MLB keeps making money, they won’t bother to change it.