📰 NEWS FLASH: Experts argue the Guardians should rethink their pursuit of a top-tier talent, insisting Ramírez’s dominance already shifts the team’s balance ⚡.NL

José Ramírez isn’t just holding down third base for the Cleveland Guardians – he’s defining it. Now in his 13th season, Ramírez continues to be the heartbeat of the franchise, and his latest campaign only reinforces that status. Finishing third in AL MVP voting, he once again reminded everyone why he’s one of the most consistent and complete players in the game.

And here’s the thing: when you’ve got a cornerstone like Ramírez, you don’t go shopping for upgrades. You don’t need to.

That’s why recent chatter around Nolan Arenado’s potential availability from St. Louis, while intriguing on a league-wide level, doesn’t move the needle much in Cleveland. The Guardians simply aren’t in the market for a third baseman – not when they’ve got one of the best doing it every day.

Ramírez’s durability is part of what makes him so valuable. He appeared in 158 games this season – the eighth time in the last nine full seasons that he’s played more than 152. That kind of availability is rare in today’s game, and when it comes with elite production, it’s even more special.

Let’s talk numbers. Ramírez slashed .283/.356/.507 with 30 home runs, 85 RBIs, and 103 runs scored.

Oh, and he swiped a career-high 44 bags. That’s not just solid – that’s superstar-level output across the board.

He’s a threat in every phase of the game, and he’s doing it with a level of consistency that most teams can only dream of.

So when the idea of adding Arenado comes up, it’s fair to ask: why?

Arenado, now 34, is coming off a tough season. He hit just .237 with a .289 OBP and a .377 slugging percentage – numbers that reflect a steep drop from his All-Star form.

His OPS+ dipped to 87, the lowest he’s posted in a full season since 2013. For context, league average OPS+ is 100, so we’re talking about a below-average offensive output.

And it’s not just a one-year blip. This marks the third straight season of decline for Arenado since his standout 2022 campaign, when he blasted 30 homers and finished third in NL MVP voting.

The advanced metrics tell a similar story – his hard-hit rate, once among the best in the league, has fallen dramatically. Two years ago, he was in the 75th percentile.

Now? The 12th.

That’s a sharp drop-off, and it’s reflected in how he’s viewed moving forward. Projections have him ranked as the 22nd-best third baseman heading into 2026 – a slight improvement from 24th last year, but still a far cry from his peak.

Could a move to first base or DH extend his value? Maybe in a vacuum. But when you’re already set at third with a player like Ramírez, and when your roster construction doesn’t demand that kind of shake-up, it just doesn’t make much sense to force a fit.

You don’t bench a franchise pillar to roll the dice on a rebound. You don’t fix what isn’t broken.

The Guardians know what they have in José Ramírez – a player who shows up, produces, and leads by example. He’s not just Cleveland’s third baseman.

He’s their identity. And with him locked in at the hot corner, the Guardians can focus their offseason efforts elsewhere.

Because when your foundation is this strong, you build around it – not over it.