The Cleveland Guardians made a quiet lineup adjustment on May 13 that has produced anything but quiet results. Moving Jose Ramirez from the three hole to the two spot has quietly become one of the most impactful decisions Stephen Vogt has made all season, and the numbers since the change are making the case louder by the day.
Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com laid out exactly what the move has meant.
“Manager Stephen Vogt announced that Ramírez was moving from the No. 3 spot in the lineup to the No. 2 spot on May 13. Since then, he’s hitting .305 (25 for 82) with nine doubles, four homers and 17 RBI. He’s also scored 14 runs and stolen seven bases in seven attempts,” Hoynes wrote.
Batting .305 with nine doubles, four home runs, 17 RBI, 14 runs scored, and a perfect 7-7 on stolen base attempts over that stretch is the kind of production that elevates an entire lineup. When Ramirez is locked in at the two spot, every hitter behind him benefits from better counts, more runners on base, and the constant threat of his legs forcing opposing pitchers to work out of the stretch.
Ramirez enters Monday’s series opener against the Yankees batting .238 on the full season with 10 home runs, 33 RBI, a .345 OBP, and a .772 OPS across 248 at bats. He has scored 39 runs and stolen 23 bases in 2026. The season-long average does not yet reflect what the two-hole version of Ramirez looks like in full, but if the May 13 through present sample holds, the full season line will look very different by September.
The seven-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger is signed through 2032 on a seven-year, $175 million extension, a deal that looked like a hometown discount the moment it was signed and looks more like one every time he takes the field. The 33-year-old has spent his entire career in Cleveland and accumulated 1,727 career hits, 295 home runs, 982 RBI, and 310 stolen bases across 6,218 career at bats.
One lineup card adjustment on May 13 will not define a season. But when that adjustment unlocks a .305 average, nine doubles, four home runs, and 17 RBI in the span that follows, it becomes very difficult to argue it was anything other than the right call at the right time.
Vogt made the move. Ramirez made it matter.
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