Analyst Puts A Lot Of Pressure On Cleveland Guardians Superstar

The Cleveland Guardians are lucky enough to have one of the best players in baseball. Jose Ramirez is in the prime of his career and continues to prove so on both offense and defense.

However, despite routinely being a playoff contender, the front office has taken some backlash for not surrounding Ramirez with more star talent.

This means that J-Ram must consistently be one of Cleveland's top players for the team to be in the postseason race.

Will Leitch of MLB.com recently put together a list of 10 stars whose teams need them the most and wrote in the introduction that if a team "were to lose them, would be most likely to implode."

Cleveland's superstar third baseman appeared third on the list, and this is what Leitch had to say about Ramirez:

"Ramírez has been carrying the Guardians offense for so long that you almost take him for granted. That certainly won't change in 2025. The only offseason addition to the Guardians' lineup was bringing back Carlos Santana, who is heading into his age-39 campaign. So the heavy lifting will once again be done by Ramírez, who ended up in the top 10 in AL MVP Award voting (fifth, actually) for the seventh time in his career."

Oct 18, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) throws to first base in the sixth inning against the New York Yankees during game four of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

What Leitch writes here is largely true. Cleveland relies on Ramirez a lot to be their top player, as well as the heart and soul of their offense. He's clearly been their top hitter over the last few seasons.

In 2024, Ramirez led the team in home runs (39), doubles (39), slugging (.537), and OPS (.872).

While Cleveland still has other intriguing hitters, such as Steven Kwan, Kyle Manzardo, and Carlos Santana, the team would be in trouble if it lost Ramirez for an extended period of time.

Read More Cleveland Guardians Coverage