The Cleveland Guardians’ decision to move on from Josh Naylor was quite surprising at the time.
While the team had a long history of moving on from its star players once they started getting a little too pricey, Naylor was one of their best players and, more importantly, a primary source of offense.
That’s why former Guardians star OF Albert Belle was surprised to see that move go down.
Talking on the Carlos Baerga Show, the retired outfielder claimed that the Guardians essentially left Jose Ramirez out to dry:
“[Josh Naylor’s] gonna be that guy in the cleanup spot behind Ramirez, and Ramirez is gonna have a great year. Unfortunately, they traded him. Santana didn’t quite have the season that everybody was expecting, and then it snowballed. Jose Ramirez was kinda left out to dry,” Belle said.
"Jose Ramirez was kinda left out to dry." #GuardsBall
Albert Belle was surprised when Cleveland traded Josh Naylor.
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— Carlos Baerga Show (@BaergaShow) October 11, 2025
Notably, he’s not the only one who feels that way.
Ramirez turned some heads with his recent comments about the Guardians’ front office.
He called them out for not bringing in more stars, since he agreed to take a huge hometown discount in his last contract extension just so they could have more money to spend.
That clearly hasn’t been the case so far.
If anything, they’ve just tried to shed even more money from their payroll.
That’s another big concern as the Guardians enter this offseason.
There have been multiple rumors surrounding Steven Kwan and his future with the organization.
They have yet to sign him to a contract extension, and given his talent and value, he should have plenty of suitors.
It’ll be interesting to see how they decide to approach that situation, especially after Ramirez’s latest words.
And while Ramirez is unlikely to force his way out of the team, they definitely don’t want to get on his bad side.
NEXT: Analyst Reveals What Changed With Kyle Manzardo During Season
