In a tight battle for the AL Central, the Cleveland Guardians lose one of their star players to injury. Guardians star third baseman José Ramírez underwent surgery to remove the hook of a fractured left hamate bone after suffering the injury on a foul pop-up against the Detroit Tigers. Ramírez will miss approximately five to seven weeks before returning to major league action.
Ramírez had the procedure on Tuesday, June 16th, performed by hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. Recovery time for this exact procedure is five to seven weeks, which keeps him out through the All-Star break and positions his return around late July or early August. The star third baseman has a prior history with this kind of injury, but the first time the injury was on his right hand back in August of 2019. He missed exactly one month that season, though his return was slightly rushed due to the postseason race.
Hopefully, this time around he can take his time to fully recover and continue to be the team’s franchise anchor. Though when he returns to the Guardians lineup, we should expect to see he takes his time adjusting back to game speed.
This injury is known to sap a player’s power in the short term. Even though his power has dipped a bit this season, as he’s on pace to hit 23 home runs, it’ll take time for his swing speed and blast metrics to fully bounce back. When he comes back to the lineup, he’ll experience lingering hand weakness or minor issues immediately upon returning; it does not permanently degrade a player’s swing mechanics.
When Ramírez is in the Guardians lineup, he’s one of the best players in the league and considered one of the most important players in franchise history. He cemented his legacy by surpassing Terry Turner to hold the Guardians’ all-time record for games played. Offensively, he’s produced elite power-speed combinations, regularly posting 30-30 or even 40-40 type seasons. Before getting hurt, he was inching closer to becoming the ninth player in MLB history to record 300 homers and 300 stolen bases. He rarely strikes out as he consistently puts the ball in play and has proven to be a clutch hitter for the Guardians, where he drags the offense out of slumps and outperforms his expected metrics because of his incredible baseball instincts.
Defensively, since moving to third base full-time, Ramírez has ranked in the top tier of the majors in OAA and DRS. His preparation & positioning are widely praised by the Guardians coaching staff, as he’s known to rarely get caught out of position because he memorizes hitter tendencies and opposing pitchers’ habits. On the diamond, you can put him anywhere, as his versatility is key. Before solidifying himself at the hot corner of the diamond, Ramírez had played second base, shortstop, and left field.
His durability is unmatched, as this is only the second time in his 14-year MLB career that he’s been placed on the injured list, making him one of the most durable players the game has ever seen.
What Will Guardians Do without Jose Ramirez?
Through the first two months of the season, Ramírez struggled to find his MVP-caliber form as he entered June batting just .226 with a .783 OPS across his first 61 games. Entering June, he heated up, batting .295 with an .849 OPS, bringing his overall season batting average up to .239 with 10 home runs and 24 stolen bases.
In the meantime, the Guardians will deploy a combination of defensive utility players at third base and reshape the top of their batting order. According to Zach Meisel of The Athletic, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said: “When you take a steady guy out like José, it’s going to be all hands on deck”.
Gabriel Arias was just activated off the 60-day injured list (hamstring) in a corresponding roster move to assume Ramírez’s roster spot. He’s expected to handle a large portion of the defensive duties at third base. Arias hasn’t completed his rehab assignment, so he is still ramping up to play full nine-inning games consecutively.
Daniel Schneemann, who is a utility player, will see extended regular starts at third base. He’s already logged multiple defensive appearances there this season when Ramírez served as the designated hitter.
David Fry, who can play catcher or anywhere in the field, provides a third versatile option to spell Arias and Schneemann when needed.
With Ramírez out of the lineup, the batting order changes drastically. Brayan Rocchio has been moved out of his usual ninth spot to hit second in the batting order, directly behind leadoff hitter Travis Bazzana. For power protection, Kyle Manzardo is sliding into the third slot in the lineup to anchor the middle of the order.
Before injury, Ramírez was leading the American League with 24 stolen bases at the time of his injury. The Guardians will rely heavily on overall baseline execution, walks, and situational hitting to make up for the loss of his elite base running.
Along with the Ramírez injury, the Guardians have faced the challenge of dealing with multiple injuries to their lineup.
On June 13th, in the Guardians 3-1 win over the Tigers, the Guardians lost outfielders Angel Martinez and Chase Delauter to injuries, along with the Ramírez injury. Devastating blows all across the lineup for the Guardians team, who are trying to stay competitive in the AL Central division race. It’ll be interesting to see how the Guardians fare over the course of June into July. Hopefully, they can stay relevant in the meantime while their star players recover.
