The Cleveland Guardians have the luxury of being able to write down their expectations for Jose Ramirez and have virtually no doubt that the All-Star third baseman will reach them, if not exceed them altogether. As he moves along in the second decade of his MLB career, he is showing no signs of slowing down.
On the contrary, the 33-year-old seems to be getting better with age. In 2025, he posted his second straight 30-30 season, and if he reaches that milestone again, he would join Barry Bonds as the only players to ever do so three years in a row.
Ramirez has been given another encouraging home run projection for 2026, and though at 28 it falls short of 30, it would be no surprise if he surpasses it.
“Projected HR Total: 28,” Joel Reuter wrote. “While there was a 5.4 WAR gap in their overall value, Kyle Manzardo only hit three fewer home runs than Jose Ramirez did last year with a 27-homer, 70-RBI campaign, so he’s worth keeping an eye on. However, ‘J-Ram’ has led the Guardians in home runs six years in a row, so betting against him doing it again seems unwise.”
The number projects to lead the Guardians for a seventh straight season. He may have to hold off Manzardo for that honor, and Rhys Hoskins is a late entrant into the fray after signing after the opening of spring training.
This is the second significant preseason projection that has Ramirez falling short of the 30 threshold, which he reached in 2024 with a career-high-tying 39 and followed with 30 in 2025. He also has a season of 36 homers in 2021 and two of 29 (2017 and 2022).
Though a player of his age could be expected to decline, Ramirez has shown no signs of that happening to him. Not only has he finished in the top 10 of AL MVP voting the past six years, but he has also played at least 152 games in each of the past five full seasons.
The Guardians may need that level of performance this year more than ever as they look to add multiple young players to their lineup. After ranking near the bottom of MLB in runs scored last season, they cannot afford their best offensive player to have any type of drop-off.
That is unlikely to be the case, as Ramirez has been an annual force throughout his potentially Hall of Fame career.
NEXT: Analyst Reveals Reasons To Be Excited About Rhys Hoskins
