TG Fantasy Baseball

CLEVELAND (AP) — José Ramírez forced the Guardians to go deep into their pockets.

The All-Star third baseman agreed to a $124 million, five-year contract on the eve of opening day with Cleveland, a record-setting deal for a franchise that hasn't been able to swing with baseball's big spenders over the years.

Ramírez's deal runs through the 2028 season, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Ramírez still must take a physical and numerous other details need to be finalized before the contract is official, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The deal includes a full no-trade clause and is the biggest in team history, more than doubling the $60 million committed to slugger Edwin Encarnacion five years ago.

It will be baseball's 16th contract of $100 million or more since the end of the World Series.

The Guardians open the 2022 season — their first game since changing their name from Indians — in Kansas City on Thursday, and they'll start it knowing Ramírez will be staying at third and batting third for the next several years.

“An absolute grinder on the field,” said pitcher Shane Bieber, who will start the opener. “Plays with his heart and soul out there. Blood sweat and tears. It’s just a guy that as a pitcher you stand on the mound and you look over your right shoulder and it’s a feeling of comfort knowing he’s there giving his all each and every play and he’s invested each and every inning and pitch and game.”

The team and Ramírez’s representatives had been in talks about a deal for weeks at training camp in Arizona. The 29-year-old Ramírez had expressed a desire to finish his career with Cleveland, which signed him as a teenager in the Dominican Republic.

After stalling, negotiations intensified the past two...