Analyst Raises Major Concern About Jose Ramirez’s Struggles

When Jose Ramirez was able to return from his wrist injury earlier than expected, the Cleveland Guardians were rightfully thrilled. Their offense needed a boost, and who better to provide it than their best player of the past decade.

Even though Ramirez had struggled prior to suffering the injury on June 13, the expectation was that the third baseman would eventually bounce back to his All-Star form. Now, entering the final two weeks of the season, the Guardians are still waiting.

CBS Sports analyst Mike Axisa is raising a major concern about Ramirez’s latest struggles, which could prove costly as the Guardians pursue their third straight AL Central title.

“The one Guardians hitter who has not pulled his weight the last two weeks is the guy who usually drives the bus: Jose Ramirez. Ramirez has hit .111/.149/.111 over the last 14 days and has been unable to drive the ball since returning from a broken hamate in late July. It’s hard to see the Guardians winning the AL Central without Ramirez making an impact these last two weeks,” Axisa wrote.

Ramirez went 1-for-4 on Monday in a loss to the Chicago White Sox that dropped the Guardians to 1.5 games behind them in the division race. His first-inning single ended an 0-for-13 stretch over his prior three games.

At the time of his injury, which occurred on a swing in a game against the Detroit Tigers, Ramirez had a slash line of .239/.339/.418 with 10 home runs in 72 games. Since his return on July 22, he has slashed .215/.288/.270 with just one home run.

Ramirez’s lack of power is both glaring and significant for the Guardians, but should not be surprising for a player after having hamate bone surgery. He has hit at least 23 home runs in each of his past eight full seasons, including 39 and 30 homers, respectively, in the past two years.

To his credit, Ramirez is trying to contribute in other ways, with two stolen bases against the White Sox on Monday. He now has 33 for the season, which would have put him in line for his third straight 30-30 campaign.

Based on his long list of past accomplishments, it would not be a surprise to see Ramirez make a major contribution before the end of the season, and that could come as soon as Tuesday in the second game of the crucial three-game divisional showdown against Chicago at Progressive Field.