With the Cleveland Guardians sitting at .500 with just 30 games remaining in the 2025 regular season, playoff hopes are dwindling and if the team has any hopes of grabbing a Wild Card spot in the American League, the Guardians have to at least win their three-game series against the Seattle Mariners this weekend, who are five games ahead of them and in possession of the final Wild Card spot.
Despite the Guardians having a disappointing campaign, superstar third baseman Jose Ramirez is still having another outstanding year, which has earned him an impressive ranking among his fellow AL MVP candidates.
Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly recently wrote an article highlighting the top ten MVP candidates in each league, and he had Ramirez at No. 5 in the AL.
“José Ramírez may never win an AL MVP, but he’s as good a bet as any to be a top-five finisher in any given season. Ramírez has five top-five finishes in AL MVP voting in his career, including being the runner-up in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He’s finished in the top 10 seven times. The latter category will certainly add another this year, and we’re projecting the former will as well. With 26 home runs, 68 RBI, an .867 OPS, 36 stolen bases, and the fourth-best WAR among AL position players, Ramírez could further his Cooperstown case with another top-five finish,” Kelly wrote.
Ramirez has been the only player living up to expectations in the Cleveland lineup, which has collectively been arguably the worst in the NFL.
If he finishes strong, he should certainly finish in the top five for the sixth time in his career, and he continues to quietly build up an impressive resume for the Hall of Fame.
Kelly has Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Tarik Skubal, and Garrett Crochet ranked ahead of Ramirez, and with the years those four are having, it’s tough to argue against them.
Ramirez certainly doesn’t play this game for personal accolades and would rather make another run to a World Series, but he still deserves all the credit in the world for the year he is having.
NEXT: Guardians Pitcher Continues To Impress This Season
