The Cleveland Guardians are experiencing the unfamiliar feeling of playing without superstar third baseman Jose Ramirez. The seven-time All-Star has been incredibly durable during his career, appearing in at least 152 games in each of the past five seasons.
He also has missed just 10 games total over the past three years. Now, he has missed 13 straight games, after playing in every one of the previous 72 this season.
A left hamate bone injury suffered on June 13 required surgery and landed Ramirez on the injured list for the first time since 2019. He was expected to be sidelined for 5-7 weeks.
According to Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com, Ramirez recently provided an encouraging injury update, with a big step in his recovery coming up soon.
“Jose Ramirez says he’s making progress in his recovery from surgery on his left hand to remove a broken hamate bone. Ramirez said he’ll have the stitches removed from his hand Tuesday and could start swinging the bat sometime later this week,” Hoynes wrote.
Coincidentally, the only other time Ramirez was on the injured list was when he broke the hamate bone in his right wrist in August 2019. Then, with Cleveland in a playoff race, he returned in less than a month, and in his first game back, he hit two home runs with seven RBIs.
Now, at 33 years old and without the immediate sense of urgency as before, Ramirez may be better served by taking the entire recovery time. A good target date is sometime after the All-Star break, with the Guardians returning to action on July 17.
Until then, Cleveland will try to stay afloat without its best player. Ramirez, Angel Martinez, and Chase DeLauter were all injured in the same game and on the injured list simultaneously, and the team went 4-7 until DeLauter returned from his fractured rib on Sunday.
Ramirez’s injury came at a bad time for both him and the Guardians, as he was performing much better following a slow start to the season. In the 11 June games, he had a slash line of .295/.326/.523 with two home runs, four RBIs, and four stolen bases.
Cleveland has fallen into second place in the AL Central behind the Chicago White Sox, but there is plenty of time to retake the lead even before Ramirez returns at some point next month.
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