At the end of spring training in 2022, José Ramírez gathered nearly every key decision maker on the Guardians into the visiting manager’s clubhouse at Chase Field to hammer out his contract extension.
That ended up serving as the jumping off point for a magical season that otherwise would have been a dismal march through mediocrity had they traded Ramírez to the Padres or Blue Jays.
It also opened up the Guardians’ payroll for future deals, which the front office vowed to use on various upgrades on the roster.
And although they did repurpose some of those earnings for a variety of players, there’s not much to show for it four years later.