José Ramírez is moving toward the next step in his recovery, and it could come as soon as later this week.
The Guardians star said he’ll have the stitches removed from his left hand on Tuesday after surgery to remove a broken hamate bone. From there, Ramírez said the hope is to begin swinging a bat sometime later this week.
“I’ve been able to do everything, but hit,” said Ramírez.
Ramírez, Angel Martinez and Chase DeLauter were all hurt in the June 13 game against Detroit and landed on the injured list with broken bones in different parts of their bodies. Ramírez broke the hamate bone at the base of his left hand on a swing.
Martinez sustained a non-displaced fracture of his left foot on a fouled pitch. DeLauter suffered a hairline fracture of his right rib after hitting the right field wall while chasing a fly ball.
DeLauter was back in the starting lineup Sunday in Cleveland’s 6-5 win over Seattle, going 2 for 5 with two RBI and scoring what turned out to be the winning run in the five-run inning.
The Guardians have pegged the recovery time for Ramírez and Martinez at five to seven weeks, and Sunday will mark the three-week point.
“I’m feeling good,” said Ramírez. “I want to come back and play, but I’m staying calm.”
Ramírez also pointed to his previous hamate injury as a reason for optimism. In 2019, he broke the hamate bone in his right hand and was originally expected to miss five to seven weeks, but he returned in 30 days to aid Cleveland in a late push for the postseason. That comeback lasted three games before he was shut down for the year.
This time, Ramírez said the injury feels less severe.
“The last time I couldn’t touch my thumb to my fingers for at least two weeks,” said Ramírez. “I’ve been able to do that for a while.”
Cleveland entered Monday’s game against Texas having gone 5-7 since June 13 and sitting in a virtual tie with Chicago for first place in the American League Central.
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For Cleveland, the timing matters because every lineup decision feels amplified when the opposing starter can change the tone of a game by himself. The projections point to a close one and even hint at a higher-scoring finish than you might expect, but for the Guardians the bigger question is whether they can absorb the absences, stay competitive early, and keep themselves within striking distance against a Texas club that has a little more room to lean on its top-end arms. [Read more 🡒]