José

Ramírez

Antonetti noted that Ramírez has progressed as planned in his recovery from surgery to repair a fractured left hamate bone, but that he still has boxes to check before he’s going to be able to return to game action. The expectation is that he’ll start to face overhead pitching soon. Ramírez was given an initial timeline of 5-7 weeks when he hit the injured list three weeks ago on June 14.

Ramírez underwent surgery to remove the hook of his fractured left hamate bone after suffering the injury on a swing during last Saturday’s game against the division-rival Tigers. The 33-year-old perennial fantasy force will be on the shelf until at least late July. He was hitting .239/.339/.418 with 42 runs scored, 10 homers, 33 RBI and 24 stolen bases across 314 plate appearances in 72 games, delivering top-five overall fantasy value at the hot corner. It’ll be challenging for fantasy managers to replace Ramírez’s contributions, but at least he’ll make it back sometime after next month’s All-Star break.

The 33-year-old superstar suffered the unfortunate injury on a swing during Saturday’s game. He’s expected to miss at least a month’s worth of action and as we have often seen with hamate bone injuries, his power may be impacted upon his return. Gabriel Arias was activated from the injured list in a corresponding move and figures to share time with Daniel Schneemann at third base to cover for the loss of Ramírez.

That’s always the fear when a player starts shaking his wrist after a swing. Ramírez tends to be a quick healer, but he will almost surely miss at least a month. The Guardians are about to get Gabriel Arias back and could put him in the mix along with Daniel Schneemann at third, but prospect Angel Genao could also be an option.

It looked like it might be a hand/wrist issue. Ramírez being the third Guardians player leaving due to injury forced the Guardians to put Rhys Hoskins in left for his first outfield appearance since 2018. Kyle Manzardo replaced Hoskins at first base.

Ramírez led off the third inning with a solo homer off Jack Leiter to put the Guardians on the board. He then singled, stole second, and scored in the fifth. Ramírez would reach for a third time on a walk in the sixth. The 33-year-old third baseman is hitting .242/.349/.434 with 10 homers, 39 runs scored, 33 RBI, and 23 steals across 289 plate appearances. The 23 steals have Ramírez tied for the MLB lead with Bobby Witt Jr. and Nasim Nuñez.

J-Ram is off to a hot start this week at Yankee Stadium, as he doubled three times in Tuesday’s series opener. His 21 stolen bases lead the American League, and he trails Nasim Nuñez by one for the MLB lead. Prior to 2024, Ramírez never had a stolen base attempt rate higher than 3.5%, per Statcast. He’s been at 4.5% or higher in each of the past three seasons. The power is down so far this season, but 40+ bags appear to be a given for a third consecutive campaign.

Ramírez had three doubles for the fifth time in his career, making him the active leader there. Nolan Arenado, Freddie Freeman, Paul Goldschmidt and Bryce Harper have done it four times apiece. Ramírez came into the night hitting .178/.220/.267 in his previous 12 games.

After striking out three straight times and going hitless in four at-bats prior to extra-innings, Ramírez extended Cleveland’s lead with a double into the left-center field gap against Tigers lefty reliever Tyler Holton that brought around Angel Martínez with a key insurance run in the 10th inning.

Ramírez’ home run was his eighth of the year. The 33-year-old third baseman piled on with a solo shot off Emmanuel De Jesus in the ninth inning. Ramírez also helped break open the game with a two-run double that gave the Guardians a 7-1 lead in the sixth inning. He’s hitting .240 with 30 runs, 22 RBI and 20 stolen bases this year.