“Deal or No Deal”: Should the Cubs keep Aramis Ramirez

The “deal or no deal” series started yesterday here at Cubbies Crib, when we asked the question if the Cubs should bring back Derrek Lee. Today,  the focus is on Aramis Ramirez, as he has a $14.6MM player option for 2011. While the Cubs have no voice in the matter, I still will look at whether or not the Cubs want Aramis Ramirez back.

Question: Should the Cubs want to keep Aramis Ramirez?

Cons: To be honest, there really is no con in Aramis Ramirez for the Cubs. It will be interesting to see how Ramirez rebounds from suffering his first major injury of his career last year, when he separated his shoulder. But other than that Ramirez is a very solid player for the Cubs.

Pros: To simply put it, Ramirez is “Mr.Clutch” for the Chicago Cubs. Every year you can expect that he has countless game winning hits through the season. His defense also has been a pleasant surprise over past couple years, and he has become a very good defensive player.

Answer: The answer is completely up to Aramis Ramirez on whether or not he wants to be back for the Cubs.  But, their are multiple reasons why Aramis Ramirez will be back with the Cubs next year.

For one, money talks. Look at the fact that Aramis Ramirez would be making $14.6MM next year if he picked up his option, and with many teams not willing to throw money at free agents like we’ve seen in the past, $14.6MM is a lot of money for the current baseball market.

And the last reason, is because Aramis Ramirez loves the Cubs. He has stated on numerous accounts that he would like to retire a Cub, and if that is true,  you will be able to assume that Ramirez will pick up his player option next season.