Ever since he broke out in 2016, Jose Ramirez has carried the Cleveland Guardians. Until 2020, he did it alongside fellow infielder Francisco Lindor, but starting in 2021, he was the unquestioned star of the team.
Ramirez has accumulated seven All-Star berths and six Silver Slugger Awards, not to mention six top-five AL MVP finishes. He peaked at second place in 2020, and to be honest, he probably deserved the award.
For years, Ramirez has been the Guardians’ ‘Superman’, coming through when the team needed a consistent offensive, defensive, and baserunning force. He routinely finished among the league leaders in fWAR, home runs, stolen bases, wRC+, and many relevant stats.
This season, however, has been rough for J-Ram. He didn’t enjoy a particularly productive start, then got injured, and has failed to replicate the form that made him baseball’s most underrated star from 2016 to 2025.
As of Thursday, Ramirez is hitting .243/.339/.385 with 10 home runs, 31 stolen bases, and a 102 wRC+. The basestealing output has certainly been there, but everything else has been below the lofty standards he has set for himself.
Perhaps Ramirez is pressing, knowing that his team needs him. Maybe he decided to accelerate his rehab and is paying the price. Joe Noga and Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com said he’s starting to look like himself again, though, and had some words of advice for him.
“When Jose was out recovering from surgery during the five weeks he was gone, they went 15-15. They showed they can win or keep their nose above water without him. And now, with the trades they’ve made and with RamÃrez kind of recovering, they don’t need him to be Superman anymore. They just need him to contribute,” Hoynes said.
And contribute he has, at least in the last few games. He finally seems to be turning the corner in terms of hitting for power, and is looking as dangerous as ever.
He is slashing a cool .333/.356/.452 (119 wRC+) since August 15, with five doubles and seven RBI. Three of those two-baggers came on Tuesday, when the Guardians completed a furious comeback to beat the Los Angeles Angels.
If the Guardians are patient, the home runs will eventually come. When they do, they will be hard to stop, as they have the pitching and the supporting cast to be very competitive.
With the rise of Chase DeLauter, Angel Genao, Travis Bazzana, and Steven Kwan’s return to form, not to mention quality deadline acquisitions Jo Adell and Nathaniel Lowe and the steady Patrick Bailey-Austin Hedges catching tandem, the Guardians don’t need Ramirez to save them. They do need him to offer something, and he certainly has in recent games.
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