Major League Baseball is a results-based sport, so sometimes it can be tough to recognize the moves that pay off for a team compared to the ones that, well, don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
But after we\u00a0 spent some time earlier this week highlighting three recent moves the Guardians made that haven’t pay off,<\/a> we decided to take a look at three moves the team has made that have helped turn the Guardians into the perennial contender that they are now.\u00a0<\/p>\n These three moves helped the Guardians turn into a contender\u00a0<\/p>\n Signing Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez to contract extension\u00a0<\/p>\n It seems simple, but sometimes the simplest moves can be the most important. As spring training winding down (and with the Blue Jays and Padres banging down the Guardians\u2019 door), Ram\u00edrez huddled in the visiting manager\u2019s office at Chase Field to hammer out his contract extension.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n It was a move that set the Guardians up for long-term success.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ram\u00edrez has hit .281 in the four seasons since signing that extension to go along with 122 home runs, 409 RBI and 133 steals. He\u2019s been an All-Star four times, won three Silver Sluggers and finished in top-five in MVP voting in each season.\u00a0<\/p>\n Simply put, Ram\u00edrez is one of the best players in baseball<\/a> and there\u2019s no way the Guardians would be where they are without him.\u00a0<\/p>\n Giving Steven Kwan a chance to be an everyday outfielder\u00a0<\/p>\n Ram\u00edrez\u2019s extension wasn\u2019t the only franchise-altering decision the Guardians made at the start of the 2022 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kwan wowed during spring training in 2022 and ended up breaking camp with the Guardians thanks to Josh Naylor needing to start the season on the injured list. He was the fifth outfielder on the depth chart<\/a> behind Myles Straw, Bradley Zimmer, Oscar Mercado, Amed Rosario and Myles Straw (2022 was a time) but ended up becoming the best of the bunch.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kwan\u2019s been with the Guardians for so long that the conversation around him has gone from appreciating what he can do to wondering when he\u2019s going to be traded<\/a>, but giving him a chance in \u201822 still stands as one of the team\u2019s best moves in recent memory.\u00a0<\/p>\n Putting Cade Smith on the Opening Day roster in 2024<\/p>\n Talk about a butterfly effect.\u00a0<\/p>\n