Forever the bridesmaid? José Ramírez faces mounting questions about whether he’s destined to always finish second in MVP races.NL

CLEVELAND, Ohio — José Ramírez continues to stake his claim as one of baseball’s elite talents, earning All-MLB First Team honors for the second consecutive season while finishing third in American League MVP voting. It’s a familiar story for Cleveland’s superstar third baseman, who has now finished in the top three of MVP voting four times in his career without taking home the trophy.

The question that looms large for Guardians fans: Will José Ramírez ever break through and win an MVP award?

“Cleveland has not had an MVP since Al Rosen in 1953. José has been as close as you can get in the voting,” noted cleveland.com’s Joe Noga on the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast, highlighting the seven-decade drought that has haunted the franchise.

The primary obstacle standing in Ramírez’s way isn’t his performance – it’s the existence of generational talents like Aaron Judge who continue to put up historically dominant numbers year after year. When asked if Ramírez has the opportunity to surpass Judge in future MVP races, cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes was candid in his assessment.

“I don’t know, this might be a roadblock for him,” Hoynes said. “As long as Judge stays healthy and he plays in Yankee Stadium with that short right field porch, he’s going to be hard to beat.”

The cold, hard reality is that Ramírez – despite his consistent excellence – may be playing in an era where his best simply isn’t enough to claim the game’s highest individual honor. Judge’s 2025 season was statistically overwhelming, as he led the majors with a .331 batting average and 9.7 WAR while also hitting 53 home runs.

“If he keeps cranking out third place finishes, second place finishes, you know, that might be as good as it gets,” Hoynes added, noting that at age 33, Ramírez isn’t getting any younger.

What makes this situation particularly frustrating for Cleveland fans is that Ramírez continues to be recognized as the best third baseman in baseball, earning All-MLB First Team honors over National League counterparts. His excellence is undisputed – it’s just not quite enough to overcome Judge’s otherworldly production.

The numbers game is particularly challenging for Ramírez given his circumstances. Playing in a Cleveland lineup that often lacks the protection and complementary firepower of teams like the Yankees, he faces pressure to produce in every at-bat. As Hoynes noted, if Cleveland could “improve that offense where he doesn’t feel the pressure of having to do everything, he could have a chance.”

For now, Ramírez must content himself with being in the conversation – something that still bolsters his eventual Hall of Fame case. As Noga pointed out, “That’s what helps José Ramírez get one step closer to Cooperstown is being in the conversation year after year.”

Whether Ramírez ever captures that elusive MVP award or not, his legacy as one of Cleveland’s all-time greats is already secure. But for a franchise starving for its first MVP since Eisenhower was president, the wait continues to feel excruciating.

Podcast transcript

Joe Noga: Welcome back to the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast. I’m Joe Noga, joined by Paul Hoynes Oinsey. For the fourth time in his career, Jose Ramirez has been named to the all MLB team. Second time he’s been named to the first team. Second consecutive year he’s been named to the first team at third base. That means the, you know, the best at his position in Major League Baseball as selected by a panel of media and former players and coaches. It’s just a tremendous honor again for Jose Ramirez on the same night that he finishes third in the MVP race.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, Joe, really, he’s in some tall cotton right now, man. In the MLB first team, Cal, Raleigh, Guerrero Marte, Jose Ramirez at third, Witt at shortstop. The outfield is Judge, Julio Rodriguez and Juan Soto. Ohtani’s the dh. The rotation, Crochet, Freed, Skeens, Scubal and Yamamoto. And the closers are Chapman and Duran. So it doesn’t get much better than that.

Joe Noga: Yeah, that’s, that’s a pretty great line. As you’re sitting there reading those names off, I’m, I’m thinking to myself, wow, if everybody who’s eligible to play for the Dominican Republic this year in the World Baseball Classic decides they want to actually play, it’s going to be real hard to beat that team. You’re thinking Guerrero, Ramirez, Soto are all first team guys. And then you look down the line in the second team and even Junior Caminero is on there as well. It, it’s impressive. Last night the. I believe Cal Raleigh and Corbin Carroll committed to play for Team usa. So, so, and I think didn’t Paul Skeen say he was going to pitch for Team USA as well? So that’s, you know, it’s pretty good when you got your best out there, but yeah, that Dominican team could be loaded.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, yeah, definitely. And Judge is going to play for the USA too. So, you know, that’s a, that’s an imposing lineup or starting to be an opposing lineup. But yeah, that the Dominican Republic team, they could put out a line of a monster lineup for. And that’s what in March, Joe.

Joe Noga: Right, right. Yeah, it’s coming up this, this year, so. Or in 2026. But back to Jose, just really quickly, just talking about how second consecutive year being named to the first team and that’s this honor is irrespective of your league. So you’ve got National League and American League players on that first team side by side. This just elevates him even more in terms of his status and his stature and the way that he’s viewed in the game.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, you know, that’s, it’s an award that was instituted by MLB in 2000, I believe 19. So you know, he gets first team in that and finishes third in the MVP vote voting, which has been from the BBW A which has been around for a long time. So it was a good night for Jose. I mean, Jose wasn’t going to crack the top 10 or the top two in the MVP with Raleigh and with Raleigh and with Raleigh and Judge. But number three in that group isn’t too bad.

Joe Noga: Yeah, it’s, it’s saying something. What do you think of Jose’s chances of really just being in, in this time period in Major League Baseball with his contemporaries being Aaron Judge and you know, when the other players that are in the American League that sort of get that, you know, Aaron Judge, Mike Trout even go will go so far as that. These are guys that get the publicity, that get the, the name recognition and, and deservedly so for their talent. I mean, what Judge did this year was amazing. But Jose’s chances of being that singular superstar in Cleveland, not really having the kind of backup in the lineup that that is needed to, to produce the numbers that necessarily produce. I mean, you’re talking about a guy who’s hit 50 home runs three times in his career. Jose’s hit 40 home runs, hasn’t hit 40 home runs yet. He’s been close a couple of times. Does Jose have the, not just the firepower, but, you know, the opportunity to jump past judging any one of these seasons coming up?

Paul Hoynes: I don’t know, Joe. This might be a roadblock for him. You know, Judges, as long as he stays healthy and he plays in that ballpark and Yankee Stadium, I mean, with that short right field porch, he’s going to be hard to beat to me. But, you know, you know, you were thinking, where did Cal Raleigh come from? You know, I mean, he had that monster season, 60 home runs. So it’s possible for somebody to come out of the woodwork. You know, at least he’s not in the same league. You know, it’s, it’s, it’s not like it was, what, a few years ago when Ohtani and Judge were in the American League. So, you know, I think, you know, he has a way, you know, there’s a path for him to win an mvp, but it’s a difficult one and you know, Father Time is not doing him any favors. He’s what, 33 right now? I believe he turned 33. So, you know, if he Keeps cranking out. You know, third place finishes, second place finishes, you know, that might be as good as it gets. You know, who knows if they could get some protection behind him and in front of him or improve that offense where he doesn’t feel the pressure of having to do everything every time he comes to the plate, you know, he could have a chance.

Joe Noga: Cleveland has not had an MVP since Al Rosen in 1953. Jose has been as close as you can get in the voting, I guess, all these times. But, you know, I still don’t understand how Move on won the 1995 MVP over Albert Bell. But if you look at those numbers side by side, however, yeah, like you said, at least he’s only got to go through Judge and not Judge and Ohtani if he’s going to get one here in the next couple of years moving forward. What do you think of, you know, the, the two at the top? You mentioned Judge and Raleigh. I think only like a few points separated them. I think judge got 17 first place votes and Raleigh got 13 out of the, the 30 votes cast. Do you think the voters got it right in making it a close race in, you know, we’ve seen over the last several years a lot of unanimous MVP votes and for a lot of these awards have been unanimous and overwhelming. This time the vote was kind of split and there were guys who, I guarantee you were sweating it when, when the, the ballots were released because they didn’t want to be the only person who voted for Cal Raleigh against Aaron Judge and his overwhelming offensive numbers.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, you’re talking to one of them. I voted for Raleigh Rally first and Judge second. I, I just think, you know, Raleigh’s year was an exceptional year. You know, I know Judge blew it, you know, blew him out of the water in almost every statistical category. But when you have a catcher hit 60 home runs, you know, lead the MLB in RBI, doesn’t commit a, doesn’t have a pass ball all season, you know, catches 120 games, plays 158 games. You know what, he had 48 home runs as a catcher. You know, I just think, you know, sometimes, you know, you get one of those seasons, you know, where you just, you just can’t ignore it, you know, and, and with Judge, this is his third mvp, so he still wins, you know, he still gets the mvp. And you know, overall, you know, he did have a great season. But Raleigh, I just couldn’t pass that up. I thought it was, it was one of those kind of, you know, blips on the radar. You Know, it was just one of those things that, that jumped out of you, out at you and you couldn’t ig. Yeah.

Joe Noga: And again, I go back to last season, the, the National League MVP award. Shohei Ohtani won in a unanimous vote over Francisco Lindor. Lindor got 23 second place votes. Shohei Ohtani got all 30 first place votes. The argument at the time was Ohtani was a DH all year and Lindor played in the field. And you know, there should be more given to what he did in terms of, you know, playing defense and leading his team that way. But then you looked at what Ohtani did. He went 50, 50 and we may never see a season like that again. Okay, that was, it was an amazing run. And so you were okay with a unanimous vote in that, in that sense you look at this season with Ohtani and, or I’m sorry, with Judge and Raleigh, the 60 home runs and leading the league in RBI and playing 120 games as a catcher and the defensive excellence that Raleigh posted. We may never see a season like that again. It’s a unicorn season. But Judge’s season statistically was better. And, and really I think all you need if you’re Aaron Judge and you play in New York is the, is something like that is, is the, the ability to say, well, the statistics all point to Judge, so we should give him the, the award. I think he’s going to win an MVP every year if he, if he just manages to lead the league in every offensive category that counts. But Raleigh hit. You know, he led the in in the two categories that really mean the most. He, he led in home runs, in rbi. It was, it was really difficult in my mind to separate the two. I almost wish you could split a vote, but really you can’t do that. If, if I had had a vote in the MVP category, I think I would have gone with Cal Raleigh mostly because you know that I’m anti New York bias. But yeah, I, I think the voters probably got it right in terms of being on the, the right side of history. You could you, hoinsey and the 12 other baseball writers who voted along with you to put Cal Raleigh and can can hold your heads high and be proud of your vote because I think you have sound reasoning for, for why you cast it. Yeah.

Paul Hoynes: And it was close, Joe. You know, Judge gets 355 points. Raleigh gets 335 points. It’s the closest MVP balloting in the American League since 2019 when Trout won over Bregman. So you know, it Was, you know, we’ve been here before with this and you know, Judge gets 17 first place votes, 13 second place votes, and Raleigh gets 13 first place votes and 17 second place votes. So, you know, that’s close. You know, a couple votes either way. You know, maybe we have a different outcome, but, you know, you, you got to tip your cap to Judge. I mean, Joey, he led the big leagues with a.331 batting average, a 9.7 WAR. Led the, you know, he led the American League in runs and, and walks. You know, he led. Led the big leagues in OPS and I think slugging and on base. I mean, you just, I mean, you look at his numbers. 53 home runs, 114 RBIs. I mean, he, he did just. I don’t think he could do much more.

Joe Noga: No. And, and I believe, I’m pretty sure that his.331 batting average to win the batting title and his 53 home runs, that’s the most home runs ever hit by a batting champion, which, you know, he didn’t win the. Obviously he didn’t win the triple Crown, but, you know, that’s pretty darn close. It’s the hard one is winning the batting title in that I think if you’re a power hitter like Judge and he went out and did that. So, yeah, tremendous season. I don’t think anybody got it wrong. I think it was, it was as it was supposed to be a close vote and, and Jose Ramirez gets to basically stand in that sphere with the two of those guys. When you mentioned who, you know, who were the finalists that year, that, that’s what helps Jose Ramirez get one step closer to Cooperstown is, Is v. Is being in the, the conversation when you, you mentioned, oh yeah, Judge and Rally, but Ramirez was, was right there in third place. So I just need to, you know, figure out who there were. There were guys who were Giving Jose Ramirez fifth place votes. Are you kidding me?

Paul Hoynes: Yeah. He got 19 third place votes, six fourth place votes. High fifth place votes for 224 points.

Joe Noga: Conversation with five of those writers who decided that they thought that Jose Ramirez was the fif. And there’s a couple of them. I’m looking at the list right now, and I’m. We’ll. We’ll go, we’ll go ahead. Ron Blum. Oh, come on, man. There you go. The New York guy voted in fifth. Come on. That’s it. I’m done with New York. That’s. We’re moving on. All right, changing topics. Tony Arnoric, the bullpen coach for the Seattle Mariners. Now the bench coach for Stephen Vogt. Hoynsey, the Guardians dipping into the Seattle coaching staff once again. It’s the Seattle staff once again. They already hired Andy McKay as field coordinator. He’s going to come out of the executive office from Seattle back onto the field. And now Tony Arnoric, a former associate of Stephen Vogt. When, when Stephen Vogt was the bullpen coach in Seattle, now the bench coach. What do you know about Tony Arnoric and why is this a good fit?

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, he’s 45. Joe replaced Vogt as Seattle’s bullpen coach after Vogt took the Cleveland job following the, what, the 2023 season? He was. So he’s, he’s spent the last two years as a bullpen coach. He was previously the hitting. The Seattle’s hitting coach for two years. He joined the organization in 2017 as a minor league, you know, assistant hitting coach and catching coach. Then he moved up to the minor league field coordinator. I think he, he joined the big league, the big league coaching staff in 2022.

Joe Noga: Former.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, former minor league catcher. Played, you know, played for the, played for Marlins.

Joe Noga: Yeah.

Paul Hoynes: So. And you know, he would, he was a assistant coach at Cal Berkeley for seven years before joining the Mariners. So well rounded guy, you know, kind of, you know, a catcher, you know, so, you know, vote. I’m sure they, they could compare notes for as, as catchers and you know, just another. Seems like there’s a relationship there between Votin and Arnoric, you know, and you have to have that relationship. If he’s going to be the bench coach, there’s got to be some kind of shared familiarity between manager and, and the bench coach if it’s going to be a successful one. And I think they probably the front office, I would think, you know, gave vote kind of, you know, they let him lead this search, I believe, because he had to find somebody he’s comfortable with.

Joe Noga: Yeah, I’m looking at the Seattle media guide from last year. I’m looking at the thumbnail, the headshot of Tony Arnoric right now. And I’m telling you, it’s like they copy and pasted a Stephen Vogt. Yeah, headshot. I mean, the, the beard, the fit, the, the salt and pepper beard, the facial hair, the, the facial features. They look like they could be brothers almost. And you know, that’s. That, that’s interesting what you say about, you know, needing a bench coach who you can bounce ideas off of, but who might actually, you know, give you a something and, and who can, you know, go back and forth a little bit about some ideas. I think that’s a good thing. I think that’s what he had in Craig Alburnez for the last two years, so that’ll help as well. You talk about Tony Arnoric being a well rounded guy. He was a catcher. He also pitched in four games in the minor leagues, which is interesting. He’s got, you know, sort of both sides of that as well. Well rounded sort of athlete too. So he understands the game from, from multiple perspectives and, and they thought well enough of him to hire him as a hitting coach. So, you know, this is a guy who’s, who’s going to be able to be, you know, a part of a lot of different conversations on that coaching staff. Not just particularly for pitchers and catchers or anything like that, but, you know, all the way around the field and in the batter’s box as well.

Paul Hoynes: You know, that’s, you know, the more experience you have, you know, in any, in any line of work, the better you’re going to be. And this guy has been added. I like the fact that he’s, you know, was in the college ranks. He’s, he’s managed in the. So you know, he’s got some experience with college players, you know, and younger players. So, you know, you know, I don’t know, you know, I’ve never met him, never talked to him. But I would think with the interview process the Guardians have that, you know, they had a lot of candidates and this guy must have struck the right chord.

Joe Noga: Yeah, we’ll look forward to meeting Tony and getting to know him throughout the process in spring training and early in the season next year. Speaking of well rounded guys, well rounded players, guys with a lot of versatility, which is a word that the, the Guardians like to throw around a lot. Guy like Brendan Donovan, an All Star in 2025 for the St. Louis Cardinals. We’re seeing rumors that the Guardians might have interest in making a trade for the 29 year old utility all star guy who plays in the infield. He can play second base, he can play in the outfield. He’s won a gold glove as a utility player. And, and really this is a guy who fits and checks off a lot of boxes for what the Guardians might like. When you saw the rumors that Brendan Donovan was a guy that the Guardians might be targeting in a trade, what were your first thoughts?

Paul Hoynes: You know, I thought, like you were saying, Joe, it makes sense. He kind of fits the profile of the Cleveland player. The kind of players Cleveland likes Left handed hitter, of course, and, but this guy, he hits for an average, Joe, which is, you know, outside of Kwon and Ramirez, you know, we don’t see a whole lot of guys in that lineup hitting for a high average. He had.287 last year with, with the Cardinals. 32 doubles, 10 homers, 50 RBIs in, you know, 118 games. I don’t know if he was hurt or not. He must have had something that, that kept him out of the lineup for a while. But then the year before he played 153 games, hit.278 with 14 homers and 73 RBI. So this is a productive guy, a guy that can swing the bat and that’s what they need.

Joe Noga: Yeah, and that’s exactly what they need, is a guy to produce a little more consistently in the lineup at times. Daniel Schneem was great. There were, there were stretches where he was, you know, hitting the ball well and, and you know, being a little more consistent and there were times where he was a little more inconsistent. This would be like a Daniel Schneemann upgrade almost if you’re talking about it. Interesting. Brendan Donovan, born in Wurtzburg, Germany. So a German born player would, he would. If they were to, to target him in a trade and bring him over. He’s got what, two years of eligibility or two years before free agency before he’s able to test the market there. So what would you think the Guardians would give up in terms of, you know, a return for St. Louis if, if they were to bring in Brendan Donovan?

Paul Hoynes: Seattle is kind of embarking on a rebuild. It sounds like they’re trying to get, you know, reestablish themselves and I would think they’d be looking for prospects. You know, the Guardians are a young team, they’ve got a lot of young players with. But you know, I would, I would think the Cardinals would look at pitching first, as most teams do.

Joe Noga: Yeah, and Cleveland’s definitely a place to target for young pitching, especially in the lower minor leagues. They’ve got some good, good young prospects there. I can’t imagine that they would need anything at the major league or at least major league ready in terms of middle infield. They’ve got Mason Winn there at shortstop. I know. And he’s pretty solid young player. Donovan, having been born in Germany, was qualified to, to play for Germany in the, in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, so in the, in the qualification round. So kind of interesting. His, his dad was a military station overseas when he was born. So that’s why. Why he was able to be, uh, you know, represent the team there. So. Interesting. Just, uh, to keep an eye on, uh, you know, whether or not they. They really are targeting a guy like Brendan Donovan. But we could see why that would make a lot of sense. All right. I believe Emmanuel Class A pleaded not guilty in. In federal court on Thursday. You know, that was the, the report that we got anything out of that. Any other further developments in that regard?

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, he was really. He was released on a $600,000 bond and that was staked to some property that he owns in, in Ohio and Cleveland, I would imagine, wherever his residence is. Cleveland. He’s as Ortiz. He was restricted to travel between New York, Ohio and New Jersey. No gambling. And he was, you know, and his, his travels being monitored. I think he’s got to wear. What do they call those, Joe?

Joe Noga: Ankle bracelet.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, he’s got to wear a bracelet or some monitoring device to so the, the authorities know where this guy is. So he, you know, he, he’s, you know, as. I think we. We had a story on it today. You know, he’s trying to save his career and we’ll see how. And I think he’s. His next court case, I believe, is December 2nd.

Joe Noga: So.

Paul Hoynes: Yes. Reappear in court.

Joe Noga: That’s. Is that right before the, the winter meeting start or right around that time?

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, right before the winter meetings.

Joe Noga: Yeah. It’s very interesting.

Paul Hoynes: December 7th.

Joe Noga: Yeah, it’s interesting that they’re. They’re putting an ankle monitor on him as like, you know, what’s stopping him from. From just putting that ankle monitor on a horse and just bolting the country.

Paul Hoynes: Well, he came back, Joe. That’s the thing. He flew back from the Dominican to JFK yesterday morning. The FBI met him at the airport and drove him to the courthouse.

Joe Noga: It’s very interesting. All right, Hoy, that’s going to wrap up today’s edition of the Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast. We will check back in with you next week and we’ll talk to you then.

Paul Hoynes: Good deal.

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