José Ramírez said it was important to remain in Cleveland after signing $175 million, 7-year deal

Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez smiles during a news conference to announce his contract extension in Cleveland, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer

CLEVELAND (AP) — José Ramírez has had two consistent goals throughout this major league career — playing for one team and winning a World Series.

Ramírez’s $175 million, seven-year contract with the Cleveland Guardians likely accomplishes that first goal.

“It’s important to me to say that this is the organization that gave me a chance,” Ramírez said through interpreter Agustin Rivero on Thursday as the deal was announced. “There’s a lot of discussion about why this contract happened, but for me it’s important to be in Cleveland. This is where my family is and where I look forward to completing my career.”

The 33-year-old native of the Dominican Republic has played his entire 13-year, big league career in Cleveland. He had three years and $69 million remaining on the seven-year, $141 million contract he signed in 2022, and will now average $25 million over the next seven years under the superseding contract.

The contract is the largest in franchise history. As is with the case with some big contracts throughout the majors, Ramírez agreed to have $10 million deferred each season. Those payments are scheduled to begin in 2036.

Ramírez first approached his agent, Rafa Nieves, about trying to get a new contract early last year. Nieves asked Ramírez to hold off for a little bit but Ramírez made it a priority to get it done.

“It’s rare that you look with three years left on the contract, that you would look to restructure things, but we’re talking about a very unique player with José Ramírez,” Guardians president Chris Antonetti said. “There’s no one else like him in our organization’s recent history. And so when José made it clear what his priorities were, we wanted to try to find a way to make it work.”

Ramírez remarked that he realizes he is leaving money on the table by signing a long-term deal that would keep him in a Cleveland uniform until age 40, but the desire to remain with the Guardians was more important.

Owner Paul Dolan went one step further on Ramírez’s impact to the franchise and Cleveland when he said: “there may be a few Bob Feller fans who might argue differently, but I think Jose will go down as the greatest player in the history of our franchise.”

Guardians minority owner David Blitzer, who has an option to buy the team in 2028, also had a role in the negotiations.

Ramírez — a seven-time, AL all-star — had a career-high 44 stolen bases last season and became the fourth player in MLB history with multiple seasons of at least 30 home runs and 40 steals. He had a .283 batting average, including a career-long 21-game hit streak from May 6-28.

Cleveland has reached the postseason eight times since Ramírez was called up to the majors in 2013, including losing in seven games to the Chicago Cubs in the 2016 World Series. The Guardians have won the AL Central the past two seasons.

“I feel the same sense of pride from Cleveland than I have from the Dominican Republic” Ramirez said. “I’m 50-50, 50% Dominican, 50% Cleveland. My sons were born here, so I take that pride of the city and what that represents to me.”

Ramírez became the first player in franchise history to have at least 250 home runs and 250 stolen bases last season and just the second switch-hitter, joining Carlos Beltrán (435 homers, 312 stolen bases). He goes into 2026 with 285 home runs and 287 stolen bases.

Ramírez also is the franchise leader in extra base hits with 726 and 27 multi-homer games. He is second in home runs and RBIs (949).

“When he was a young player he played the game the right way from day one. He sets the standard for the organization and every player coming up. He’s the guy who leads by example and he has grown into being a strong voice in the clubhouse,” Guardians general manager Mike Chernoff said.

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