José Ramírez is still in the lineup, still trying to be José Ramírez, and still doing everything he can to keep Cleveland’s offense moving. But the version the Guardians need most has not fully shown up since he returned from hamate bone surgery on July 22.
The numbers tell the story better than any public quote can. Since coming back, Ramírez is hitting .229 with a .296 on-base percentage and a .302 slugging percentage. That’s a far cry from the kind of impact bat Cleveland is used to carrying in the middle of its order, and it’s especially glaring in October.
Ramírez isn’t offering excuses. He won’t say he’s hurt, and he won’t make a scene about it.
He says he’s the same José, and he says the team has to keep fighting. He’s also said the surgery feels like the one he had in 2019.
That’s part of the problem, though: this time there hasn’t been the same runway for recovery.
Paul Hoynes laid out the difference plainly. In 2019, Ramírez had three full months in the offseason to rest and rehab after the same procedure. This year, he was back in mid-July and has been playing through it ever since.
“He really hasn’t had time to rest it,” Hoynes said. “And I think that’s the biggest problem.”
That reality has become even more frustrating because Cleveland’s offense has actually improved since the All-Star break. The Guardians added Joe Adell and Nathaniel Lowe.
Steven Kwan has turned his season around. The lineup has more depth, more length, more ways to put pressure on pitchers.
Still, the one bat they can’t replace is the one that isn’t fully right.
“If he was Jose Ramirez, just an average Jose Ramirez,” Hoynes said, “with the way this offense has kind of improved - with the additions of Bazana and Delauder and what Rocchio has done and what Adell and Lowe and Bailey have added - he’s the missing part here. He’s the missing piece, and it has to be driving him crazy.”
That’s been the reality of the ALDS. Cleveland can survive a lot, but it’s hard to see a path without a true game-changer in the middle of the order.
Ramírez is still finding ways to help. He drew two walks in the series.
He remains a threat on the bases. A ball hit hard down the line can still turn into extra bases.
But those are smaller pieces of the package, not the whole thing.
“He doesn’t give his emotions away very easily,” Hoynes said after speaking with Ramírez at the podium. When asked about the wrist, Ramírez said the pain comes and goes, and that it feels different from day to day.
For Cleveland, that leaves a simple but uncomfortable truth: the Guardians’ postseason life depends not just on pitching plans or bullpen choices, but on whether anyone can cover for a compromised José Ramírez.
In Other News...
Foster Griffin Gave Cleveland The Outing Nobody Saw Coming
Foster Griffin turned an unexpected bullpen call into one of the defining storylines of Game 3 of the American League Division Series, giving Cleveland a lift nobody likely had on the pregame card. In just his second major league relief appearance and his first this season, Griffin worked 2 2/3 innings and punched out seven, a showing that matched the clubs postseason record for strikeouts by a reliever and fit neatly into a night when Clevelands pitchers were overwhelming from top to bottom.
The bigger picture was even more striking. Clevelands staff combined for 19 strikeouts in the nine-inning game, setting an MLB postseason record, and Griffins burst helped underscore how much the Guardians leaned on a performance that came from an arm few could have expected to be central in October. For a team built on pitching depth, it was the kind of outing that can change how a postseason series feels, even if the larger question of where Griffin fits next is still waiting to be answered. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Just Forced The ALDS Back Into A Much Bigger Game 4
The Guardians made sure this ALDS is still very much alive, rolling past the White Sox 9-3 in Game 3 and trimming Chicagos series lead to 2-1. Cleveland got the kind of balanced night it needed, with Jos Ramrez delivering two hits and two RBIs, Jo Adell driving a three-run triple and Foster Griffin striking out a franchise postseason-record seven in 2 2/3 innings.
Game 4 now feels a lot bigger than it did before first pitch, with the series shifting back to Rate Field and Cleveland trying to turn one win into real pressure on a Chicago club that still holds the edge. The Guardians have already shown they can swing a game with timely hitting and a dominant relief effort, and now they get the chance to see whether that formula can force this matchup into a true grind down the stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Suddenly Need Their Deadline Bets To Save This Series
The Guardians got exactly the kind of boost they were hoping for from their deadline additions in Game 3, and they needed it. Foster Griffin covered 2.2 innings and earned the win, while Jo Adell delivered a three-run triple in a 9-3 victory over the White Sox that kept Cleveland alive in the ALDS and showed why front offices pay for late-season help.
Now the pressure shifts to Game 4, where Cleveland still has to avoid elimination and Parker Messick is scheduled to start. A series that looked like it might slip away suddenly has some life, but the Guardians will need the very players they added to stabilize the roster to keep extending it. [Read more 🡒]