José Ramírez has been the heartbeat of the Guardians’ lineup for years. Right now, he looks like a star trying to play through something he can’t quite outrun.
Cleveland still has Steven Kwan setting the tone out of the leadoff spot, and if Chase DeLauter is healthy, he can slot in behind him after returning to the lineup Wednesday night and homering in his first at-bat. If DeLauter isn’t available, Travis Bazzana, Jo Adell or Angel Martinez can handle that job. But the familiar force in the No. 3 spot has been muted since Ramírez came back from left-hand surgery on July 22.
He missed five weeks after surgery to remove a broken hamate bone from his left hand on June 16, and the bat has not looked the same since. The power that has defined so much of his career in Cleveland has mostly vanished.
Since June 6, he has hit one home run. Since rejoining the roster just after the All-Star break, he has driven in 15 runs in 40 games, even with Kwan repeatedly getting on base in front of him.
Kwan has reached base in 48 games since the break and has 20 multi-hit games in that span.
The Guardians needed Ramírez to be a run producer down the stretch, and they still do. On Aug. 25, he did deliver in a big way, ripping three doubles and knocking in five runs in an 8-6, 10-inning win over the Angels.
After that game, manager Stephen Vogt said, “That was good. We needed a day where Jose carried us.”
Those nights have been rare. Ramírez has four RBI since Aug. 25, and all of them came in the same game. Over his last nine games, he is 5 for 36 with no extra-base hits or RBI.
Cleveland knew there would be a ramp-up period when he returned. The initial timetable called for a five- to seven-week absence, and he was back in five weeks without a rehab assignment. But the numbers suggest the Guardians may have gotten him back before he was truly ready.
The power outage hasn’t been the only change. Ramírez was second in the AL with 24 steals when he went on the injured list on June 14, but since returning he has stolen only seven bases. It’s not clear whether he’s simply being cautious or avoiding the kind of headfirst slides that could put stress back on the hand.
Wednesday’s 9-5 loss to the Orioles brought another rough moment. In the sixth inning, after Cleveland had trimmed an 8-5 deficit, Ramírez dropped a foul pop-up at third base that should have retired Coby Mayo.
Mayo then launched the next pitch for a home run. The cameras caught Ramírez with his head down at third base, a sight that stands out because it’s so unlike him.
He has spent his big-league career playing with relentless pace, squeezing production out of every at-bat and every inning. This version of Ramírez is missing that edge, and the injury looks like one that may not fully heal until the offseason.
That matters because Cleveland built its deadline and roster moves with some Ramírez production in mind. The front office added Adell and Nathaniel Lowe and promoted rookie Angel Genao, but they were still counting on Ramírez to be part of the answer. Instead, they’re still waiting.
Even so, Wednesday’s loss didn’t knock the Guardians out of the picture. They remained two games behind the White Sox in the AL Central after the Pirates again beat first-place Chicago. In the wild card race, Cleveland kept its one-game lead over Toronto and its 1 1/2-game edge over Texas, with both Toronto and Texas losing Wednesday.
So the Guardians are still alive, still hanging on. And Ramírez, more than anyone, is hanging on too - waiting for his hand, and his swing, to come back.
In Other News...
Guardians Farm System Has A New Long Term Prospect Question
The trade deadline left the Guardians system largely intact, which matters because the organization did not spend its prospect capital the way some contenders do. Cleveland moved only one top-30 name, Jacob Cozart, and otherwise kept its upper tier in place, where Angel Genao, Ralphy Velazquez and Braylon Doughty continue to stand out as the most immediate pipeline pieces. For a club that has made a habit of leaning on young talent, the bigger story is not what it gave up, but how quickly the next wave may be arriving.
Juneiker Caceres is already starting to shape that longer view. The Venezuelan prospect has been turning heads at both High-A and Single-A, and evaluators now see him as the best bet to become the organizations top prospect by 2028 because of how fast he has developed and the tools he brings naturally. For Cleveland, that creates a familiar kind of farm-system question: how to balance the need for help soon with the reality that the most intriguing upside may still be several seasons away. [Read more 🡒]
Steven Kwans Future Just Became A Real Guardians Offseason Issue
Steven Kwans name is suddenly in the kind of conversation Cleveland usually tries to avoid with one of its most reliable players: what happens next. The two-time All-Star still has a year left on his contract, and there have been no reported extension talks, which has only added fuel to the idea that the Guardians could be facing a difficult decision on a player who remains one of their most polished everyday pieces.
Even with some dip in the counting stats this season, Kwans value has not disappeared. His on-base work and defense still grade out well, which is why any offseason talk around him is less about performance than roster direction, payroll, and timing. For a Guardians front office that has long prized controllable talent, the possibility of moving a player of Kwans caliber would be the kind of issue that hangs over the winter until it is finally answered. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Reliever Hits Another Brutal Setback In Lost Development Run
Andrew Walters development hit another painful pause this week, as the Guardians reliever had right UCL repair surgery with an internal brace, a procedure that carries an expected recovery window of 10 to 12 months. It is the latest in a string of setbacks for the young pitcher, who has been trying to get back on track after already losing significant time to injuries since June 2025, including lat muscle surgery.
For Cleveland, the timing is especially tough because Walters was still in the middle of trying to build momentum in the organizations pitching pipeline. Even with a standard rehab path, a return to MLB action before 2028 now looks unlikely, leaving the Guardians to wait out another long recovery and wonder how much development time is left to reclaim once he is finally back on the mound. [Read more 🡒]