Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez had his stitches removed Tuesday. That’s the good news. The bad news is the team still doesn’t have a firm date for when their best hitter will be back in the lineup.
Ramirez fractured his left hamate bone in mid-June and went under the knife on June 16. The initial timeline from the team was five to seven weeks. Manager Stephen Vogt told MLB.com that the recovery is tracking closer to six weeks, which puts Ramirez on pace to return sometime after the All-Star break. That lines up with what the front office expected, but it doesn’t make watching the lineup struggle any easier.
What the Guardians have lost without him
Before the injury, Ramirez was putting up numbers that looked weird for him. A .239 batting average. A .339 on-base percentage. Ten homers and 18 doubles. Those are fine for a lot of guys, but for a player who’s finished top five in MVP voting three times in the last seven years, it felt like he was just getting warmed up. He’d also stolen 24 bases, which is pretty good for a 33-year-old third baseman.
The Guardians were in first place when Ramirez went down. They’re not anymore. Cleveland has gone 44-42 and slipped to second in the AL Central, two games behind the Chicago White Sox. The rotation has held up fine. But scoring runs? That’s been a problem. Without Ramirez in the middle of the order, the lineup has looked thin and predictable.
Two games down in Texas
Right now the Guardians are staring at a potential sweep. The Texas Rangers showed up to Progressive Field and took the first two games of the series. Wednesday afternoon’s game is a must-win if Cleveland wants to avoid getting swept at home before the break. First pitch is at 1:10 PM EST.
The Rangers lead the series 2-0. The Guardians need a win bad. Ramirez’s return will come eventually, but until then, Cleveland is just trying to keep its head above water in a division that’s suddenly tight.
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