Ken Rosenthal Reports: Jose Ramirez "Almost" A Padre

As Opening Day was mere hours away, it appeared that negotiations between the Cleveland Guardians and Jose Ramirez had hit a roadblock. In those final hours, trade talks to send Ramirez to San Diego intensified, reports MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal, and a deal was close. 

José Ramírez the... Padre? Almost.

The possibility of a trade certainly existed as the Guardians entered the final stages of their negotiations on the eve of Opening Day, sources tell @Ken_Rosenthal.

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— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 13, 2022

According to Rosenthal, "the possibility of a trade certainly existed as the Guardians entered the final stages of their negotiations with the third baseman on the eve of Opening Day, sources said."

The Guardians even held a couple of players out of their Triple-A team's opening day lineup, as they would have been included in the deal.

"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," writes Rosenthal. "The Guardians essentially were operating on parallel paths, talking trade with clubs while trying to persuade Ramírez to accept their offer."

Was Ramirez "scared" into making a deal? 

It's thought that Ramirez, aware of the existing trade possibilities, and very much set on spending his entire career in Cleveland, “woke up on the final day of spring training, (and) decided he wanted to end the stalemate. … He called his agent and directed him to find some middle ground with Cleveland’s front office.”

How much the Guardians "scared" Ramirez into accepting the team-friendly offer of a 5-year extension worth $124M, is unknown, but it certainly seems like it had an effect. 

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