CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) - The Cleveland Indians announced on Friday their pickup of José Ramírez option for the 2022 season.
The 29-year-old infielder remained one of baseball's best for the 2021 campaign, batting .266 with 32 doubles, five triples, 36 home runs, 103 runs batted in, 111 runs scored, and 27 stolen bases. Ramírez joined Shohei Ohtani as the only Major Leaguers with at least 35 home runs, 100 RBIs, 100 runs scored, and 25 steals, making Ramírez just the ninth player in history to accomplish such a feat in multiple seasons.
Ramírez will earn $12 million for the upcoming season, which would be his penultimate season with Cleveland should his $14 million option for 2023 be granted under the infielder's current contract. Ramírez signed a five-year, $26 million extension with the club prior to the 2017 season, though many could see this deal as a bargain as Ramírez has a chance to finish in the top five of the American League Most Valuable Player voting for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
The club also announced the decline of Roberto Pérez's option for the upcoming year. Pérez's, 32, saw his 2021 season hampered by a finger injury that required surgery. The catcher only appeared in 44 games for Cleveland, during which he batted .149 with seven home runs, 17 RBIs, and three doubles.
A two-time Gold Glover, Pérez's option would have been worth $7 million. Instead, he will receive a $450K buyout.
Two of the team's pitchers, Cam Hill and Nick Wittgren, also elected for free agency after clearing waivers. Wittgren, who went 2-9 with a 5.05 earned run average this past season, was arbitration-eligible for the final time this winter. Hill, who went 2-0 at the major league level in 2020, did not appear for Cleveland last season after suffering a wrist injury in a November 2020 car crash.
Another pitcher, Francisco Pérez, was claimed off waivers by the Washington Nationals. THe 24-year-old left-hander made his professional debut with Cleveland on Aug. 12 against Oakland and was shelled for three runs on three hits and three walks. However, after a brief return to Columbus, Pérez returned in September to post three scoreless outings, totaling five strikeouts in five innings and allowing just five hits with no walks.
Another Friday announcement from the club was the hiring of Chris Valaika as their new hitting coach.
Valaika, 36, served as the assistant hitting coach for the Chicago Cubs for their 2021 campaign. Prior to this, Valaika - who appeared in 99 games as a Major League player with the Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Miami Marlins from 2010 to 2014 - served as Chicago's Minor League hitting coordinator for the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
Valaika will replace Ty Van Burkleo, who in October was announced to not be returning to the position after nine seasons with Cleveland.
Finally, it was seen on Friday that the 'Indians' sign on top of Progressive Field's left-field scoreboard had been completely removed as part of the club's planned nickname change to the 'Guardians' for the 2022 season onward.
The script moniker had been with the club since their uniform and logo remodeling prior to the 1994 season and remained through numerous minor or major changes to the team's uniforms through the 2021 season.