Saturday, February 15, 2025

This Week in Dodger Baseball

Around the Bases

Cleveland’s Tear Down Makes Jose Ramirez a Trade Target for L.A.

Photo Credit: Jason Miller/Getty Images

On Thursday, the Cleveland Indians completed a long-foreseen deal that sent star shortstop Francisco Lindor to the New York Mets along with veteran pitcher Carlos Carrasco. This deal further reveals Cleveland’s down-turning direction since dealing Mike Clevinger to San Diego at the 2020 trade deadline, declining Brad Hand’s $10M club option, and losing Carlos Santana in free agency this winter.

With Spring Training set to begin in a few weeks, Cleveland currently sports a total payroll of $36,575,000 according to Spotrac. The biggest contract on the team’s payroll is the $9.4M owed to reigning AL MVP runner-up Jose Ramirez. As the Dodgers look to acquire a third baseman this offseason and are reportedly not seeing eye-to-eye with Justin Turner on the length of a potential contract, Ramirez becomes a player the Dodgers are poised to explore a trade for.

In 2020, Ramirez slashed .292/.386/.607 with 17 HR and 46 RBI in 254 plate appearances. Ramirez also provided strong value on the basepaths, stealing more bases than any other third baseman in Major League Baseball. There are very few players in the league with quite as much all-around talent as Jose Ramirez, which makes him a player the Dodgers would certainly have to pay up for in any potential trade. L.A.’s Gavin Lux and Dustin May drew interest from Cleveland in trade discussions in previous seasons.

Ramirez’s current contract includes club options for 2022 and 2023 and will make him a free agent at 31 years old in 2024.


Arrick Joel has covered the Dodgers since 2017. Follow him on Twitter at @ArrickJoel and follow @DodgersLowDown for more.

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