All-Star 3B Jose Ramirez signs a 5-year, $124M extension to his contract with the Cleveland Guardians

All-Star third baseman Jose RamirezAnd the Cleveland GuardiansSources familiar with the agreement said that they have reached an agreement on a five year extension of their $124 million contract.

Sources say the deal contains a full no-trade clause. Ramirez is guaranteed $150,000,000 with this year and the option to purchase a 2023 option.

Cleveland was the first to make this move. They purchased Ramirez’s $12 million option contract option on Nov. 5. This followed a MVP-caliber season for the 29-year old. This formal deal allowed the franchise to continue negotiations for a longer term once the baseball work stoppage was over.

Ramirez was one of few bright spots during the Indians’ final season. He has been in the top 3 of the American League MVP voting for three consecutive years. In the last year of his $26 million four-year contract, Ramirez hit.266 and had 36 home runs, three RBIs, and 27 steals.

Ramirez stated that he would like to remain after Cleveland’s loss of 80-82 last season, which was the club’s first loss since 2012. Ramirez said that there is no rush. I would like to continue my career here. We will have to wait and see what happens. “I would love to see their offerings.”

Spring training in Goodyear, Arizona has been hot on the minds of veterans, and Terry Francona, Terry Francona’s manager, was not afraid to speak out about it.

Francona said that Jose “knows how we feel about him” during a March 17 media access. “In the age of blogging, there’s so much that you could do. It doesn’t make him crazy, I hope. It doesn’t, I think.”

Chris Antonetti (General Manager of Cleveland) also addressed the future of his star infielder in Arizona last month.

Antonetti stated that the new agreement will allow Antonetti to share his thoughts without going into details. Because of the short season, it is difficult to predict when that will happen.

Ramirez was the last position player to be left from Cleveland’s 2016 pennant winning team. They lost the World Series in seven. He has been with Cleveland since 2013, his entire career in the majors. Although he only appeared in 15 games in his debut season, he has been in the majors for five seasons, reaching 120 games each time. He has also remained relatively healthy.

Francona anticipates Ramirez to be the No. Francona expects Ramirez to be the No. 3 spot in the batting lineup this season. He told reporters last month that it was safe for him to “ink” in that position moving forward. The Guardians will open their year against the Kansas City Royals. Right-hander Shane BieberThis will be the 12th consecutive Opening-Day start by a pitcher in franchise history.

Francona will be back in regular-season action for Cleveland on Opening Day, having been absent due to toe surgery.

Francona admitted that it’s been a difficult couple of years. “I don’t want my actions to be a burden on anyone, because I know that there are people who have experienced worse bouts than mine. It’s been hard.