The Toronto Blue Jays already acquired the No. 8 third basemen on our countdown of the best projected players at the position for 2022. Could they also land the top player on that list?
Just a few hours after acquiring Matt Chapman from the Oakland Athletics, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic says that the Blue Jays have interest in another star third baseman:
In this scenario, Chapman -- a two-time Platinum Glove Award winner -- would remain at third base. Ramírez, who leads all third baseman with a 28.0 fWAR since the start of the 2017 season, would shift to second base. The three-time All-Star has played 1,106 innings at second base in his career, but none since 2018. He would replace Marcus Semien, who departed to sign a seven-year/$175 million deal with the Texas Rangers after a monster season in Toronto in 2021.
Twice the runner-up for the American League MVP Award, Ramírez would help the Blue Jays to create one of the best on-paper lineups in recent MLB history, with Chapman, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.,Bo Bichette, Teoscar Hernandez, George Springer and Lourdes Gurriel, among others. Mind you, the Blue Jays also signed Kevin Gausman -- who finished sixth in National League Cy Young Award voting in 2021 -- to a five-year/$110 million deal, so they would project to be a well-rounded team.
Alas, Rosenthal says that Cleveland is unlikely to trade Ramírez at this time. But considering that he's one of the 10 best position players in the sport -- and has one of the most team-friendly contracts in MLB history -- expect the Blue Jays and other teams to try to continue to pry him away from Cleveland.
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