Any conversation about the Cleveland Guardians\u2019 lineup has to begin and end with Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although the Guardians have a variety of young prospects who could become mainstays in the lineup this summer, no player on the roster means more to the Guardians\u2019 title hopes than Ram\u00edrez, who is clearly the best third baseman in baseball.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n And the amount of pressure on Ram\u00edrez gained a bit of steam on Friday when ESPN MLB insider Jeff Pessan put out his preview for the 2026 MLB season, where he focused on the most important player from each team\u2019s roster. <\/p>\n And, unsurprisingly, he picked Ram\u00edrez as the most important player on the Guardians.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n The Guardians\u2019 offseason inaction means there\u2019s even more pressure on Jose Ram\u00edrez<\/p>\n As pointed out by Passan, the Guardians made marginal additions to their offseason despite finishing last season 29th in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage last season.\u00a0<\/p>\n Part of the reason for that is because the Guardians\u2019 front office wants to give prospects like Chase DeLauter and George Valera an opportunity to become key cogs in the lineup. <\/p>\n But it\u2019s still surprising they didn\u2019t add some kind of veteran reinforcement outside of signing Rhys Hoskins at the start of spring training.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n The good news for the Guardians is that Ram\u00edrez has been pretty unstoppable in the 2020\u2019s. Ram\u00edrez has earned MVP votes in six straight seasons and has won four of the past six American League Silver Slugger Awards at third base.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n He\u2019s been incredibly consistent and impacts the game with his glove, bat and legs. In short, he\u2019s everything you want in a superstar. But, as Passan wrote, he hasn\u2019t gotten a ton of help from the Guardians\u2019 front office as of late.<\/p>\n But he could get some help from Chase DeLauter, who Passan believes could end up being the second-best hitter in the Guardians\u2019 lineup when the 2026 season is said and done.\u00a0<\/p>\n The biggest thing that could impede DeLauter\u2019s ability to help the Guardians in 2026 is his ability to stay on the field, as he hasn\u2019t played in more than 57 games in any of the three minor league seasons he\u2019s played in.\u00a0<\/p>\n DeLauter had a minor injury pop up earlier that spring that kept him off the field for a little less than a week<\/a>, but he returned to the Guardians\u2019 lineup and has been mashing ever since.\u00a0<\/p>\n