Report: Guardians considered trading three-time All-Star Jose Ramirez to Padres before start of season

"The Padres and at least one other team, believed to be the Blue Jays, intensified their pursuit of Ramírez as word of a stalemate in his contract talks circulated throughout the industry. The Guardians essentially were operating on parallel paths, talking trade with clubs while trying to persuade Ramírez to accept their offer," Rosenthal wrote. "The Padres and Guardians know each other’s players well -- they completed significant trades in July 2018 (Brad Hand to Cleveland), July 2019 (Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes to Cleveland, Trevor Bauer to Cincinnati, Taylor Trammel to San Diego) and August 2020 (Mike Clevinger to San Diego)."

For what it's worth, the Padres still ended up making a noteworthy Opening Day trade, sending Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan to the Minnesota Twins for Taylor Rogers and Brent Rooker. But seeking a potential trade partner in San Diego, the Guardians "asked some of their former Padres about the makeup of some of San Diego’s players they were considering acquiring, a measure they take when talks are serious," per Rosenthal.

In possible preparation of adding to a Ramirez trade package, the Guardians kept infielder Gabriel Arias and outfielder Josh Naylor out of their Opening Day lineup at Triple A on April 5. Rosenthal noted that "either or both might have been included in a Ramírez trade, or promoted to the majors if the deal went through without them."

"The parties, after agreeing to the parameters of the extension last Wednesday, are still hammering out details, according to sources with knowledge of the discussions. The final deal will not include deferrals, an element the Guardians requested. To get better present-day value, Ramírez agreed to a slightly lower guarantee, including the final two years of his current deal, than the initially reported $150 million. The contract also will include money added to Ramírez’s $12 million salary this season," Rosenthal wrote. "Ramírez wanted to stay in Cleveland all along, and the idea of enhancing his Hall of Fame candidacy by spending his entire career with one club factored into his thinking, a source said. Since 2016, Ramírez is third in fWAR to Mike Trout and Mookie Betts. If he produces at similar levels the next four seasons, he will achieve the 10-year dominance that some voters view as a prerequisite for a player’s Hall candidacy."

In 980 career regular-season games and 3,545 at-bats, Ramirez has 163 home runs, 540 RBI and 154 stolen bases along with a .278/.354/.501 slash line.