The Cleveland Guardians are in the middle of a battle for a postseason spot in the American League. Every game matters; every hit, every homer, and every out.
To make it to October, the team needs Jose Ramirez to offer at least 70 or 80 percent of his usual production. He has struggled badly this year, considering the high standards he has established for himself: a .243 batting average and a .385 slugging percentage aren’t good enough for a hitter of his caliber. He hasn’t finished a season with a slugging percentage under .400 since 2015.
Ramirez has been limited by a broken hamate bone in his left hand that required surgery in June. He hasn’t looked like himself in 2026 as a whole, but he has started to show some signs of life in recent games.
Since August 15, Ramirez is batting .333/.356/.452 (119 wRC+), excluding Friday’s opener vs. Kansas City. He has hit five doubles and driven in seven runs over that span. Used to playing Superman and saving Cleveland time and again over the years, the Guardians’ supporting cast is good enough for Ramirez to take some pressure off his shoulders and focus on being healthy and competing.
Having said all this, what’s a fair expectation for Ramirez over the remainder of the season? Well, we certainly can’t and shouldn’t expect him to play at a 140+ wRC+ level with 35-homer power and enough speed to steal 40 bases. It’s not fair, since he’ll turn 34 next month and is clearly not 100 percent healthy.
Power-wise, he won’t be the same this year. However, his exit velocities are starting to improve in the last couple of weeks, and we are starting to see some doubles, better contacts, and more production overall.
If Ramirez plays as he has since August 15, at that 120-wRC+ pace with a few stolen bases and a knack for finding the gaps, the Guardians will likely take it. As he gets closer to full health, his stats could and should improve, but he needs to find that floor again.
Overall, Ramirez should be better than what he has shown in 2026 as a whole, but not quite his best version. Hopefully, he sees this and decides to prove us wrong.
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