Cleveland Guardians start 3rd baseman Jose Ramirez is likely to be sidelined through the MLB All-Star Break with a fractured hamate bone in his left wrist the team announced. Ramirez was removed from Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Detroit Tigers in the 6th inning after taking a hard swing in the 5th inning.
“He tried to go back out,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “He knew the position we were in, grabbed his glove. He said, ‘Maybe I can at least play defence,’ and couldn’t squeeze his glove. [He] wanted to get back out there to help us win that game and just couldn’t.”
The injury is a familiar one for the 33 year old who suffered an identical injury in his other hand back in 2019. Assuming that he will undergo surgery for the injury, the team is planning to be without Ramirez through the July 13-16th mid-summer classic.
After placing the usually durable Ramirez on the injured list, Cleveland activated infielder Gabriel Arias off the 60-day IL in a corresponding move, while outfielder George Valera was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.
“It sucks, man,” Guardians 1st baseman Kyle Manzardo said. “We’re going to have to grind without him for a little bit. But knowing him, I know he’s going to do everything he can to get back out there as quick as possible.”
Ramirez was seen wearing a splint on his hand following the contest this weekend, though the team’s medical staff has been tight lipped about putting any kind of definitive timeline on his recovery. The last time he underwent the procedure, Ramirez was expected to be out for 5-7 weeks, but wound up rejoining the team in just a month.
His return to the lineup was a memorable one, hitting 2 home runs, and driving in 7 runs in his team’s victory over the White Sox. Cleveland will be looking for a similar spark when he returns after surgery again as they find themselves in a dog fight in the tightly packed AL Central at the moment.
It’s been an uncharacteristically slow start to the season for the switch hitting infielder. A career .278 hitter, Ramirez is hitting just .239 on the season with 10 home runs, 42 runs scored, 33 RBIs, and 24 steals. That being said, he had been heating up of late, slashing .293/.326/.512 with three doubles, two home runs and four RBIs over 10 games in June.
Cleveland is currently tied with the White Sox for top spot in the division, and will enjoy a rare day off on Monday. After that the team will embark on a 9 game road trip which will see them take on the Brewers, and Astros, before heading to Chicago for a pivotal AL Central showdown with the White Sox.
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.