José Ramírez – Jose Ramírez suffered a fractured left hamate bone while leading off the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers, turning Cleveland’s 3-1 win into a major health blow. Manager Stephen Vogt said imaging confirmed the break, surgery is likely in the next few day
CLEVELAND — For one night. the Guardians looked like they were going to cruise through a tough stretch and move within striking distance of what they wanted most. Then José Ramírez’s swing landed awkwardly. the ballpark quieted for a different reason. and Cleveland’s 3-1 win over the Detroit Tigers quickly turned into something far harder to celebrate.
Ramírez. the star third baseman and the face of the franchise. broke a bone in his left hand on a swing Saturday and will be sidelined for an indefinite period. The fracture came in the left hamate bone as he was leading off the fifth inning. Cleveland didn’t update his condition until after the game, when manager Stephen Vogt confirmed the break.
Vogt said Ramírez underwent imaging tests that revealed the fracture. He explained how it happened in the moment: “He had a similar injury I think to his right hand a few years ago. ” Vogt said. “He tried to go back out. He knew the position we were in. grabbed his glove and said ‘Maybe I can still play defense. ’ but he couldn’t squeeze his glove. Hosey wanted to get back out there to help us win that game. He just couldn.”.
A two-time defending AL Central champion. Cleveland now faces the kind of loss that can change a season’s feel overnight. Ramírez is a switch-hitter and. as Vogt suggested with his description of wanting to stay in. his importance goes beyond statistics. He’s a seven-time All-Star. has finished in the Top 4 in MVP voting five times. and is the Guardians’ most indispensable player.
The blow is immediate because there’s no quick fix. Surgery will likely take place in the next few days, and after that the Guardians will have to survive without their best player. They do have options at third base, but none are close to being in Ramírez’s class.
Ramírez has been here before, though not in the same hand. He suffered a fracture to his right hamate bone in 2019 — the only time he has been on the injured list in his career — and after surgery he was only out for a month, even though he was expected to miss as much as seven weeks.
This time, his swing and his season have both been under strain. Entering Saturday’s game, Ramírez was batting .238 with 10 homers and 33 RBIs. His career line remains steadier than the current numbers: a .274 hitter with virtually every major team record.
Saturday’s damage didn’t stop with Ramírez. Cleveland also lost outfielders Chase DeLauter and Ángel Martínez in the first two innings. DeLauter suffered a bruised right rib cage after colliding with the outfield wall. Martinez sustained a bruise when he fouled a ball off his foot.
When Ramírez left the game, Cleveland was suddenly missing the top three hitters in its batting order. Vogt reshuffled the lineup and moved Rhys Hoskins, who began the game at first base, to left field. Hoskins hadn’t played left field since 2018, when he was with Philadelphia.
It remains unclear whether DeLauter and Martinez will join Ramírez on the injured list. Vogt said the team is working through the next steps and will know more soon: “We’re working through the logistics and what the next steps are so we’ll know more tomorrow or the next day. ” Vogt said. “These things can get complicated.”.
Across town, Detroit manager A.J. Hinch — a manager accustomed to adjusting around injuries — showed sympathy for Cleveland’s situation. “It was one after another for those guys,” Hinch said. “If there’s any team that understands having injuries at a weird time, it’s us. I didn’t see anything with Ramírez to have him come out of the game. so when Stephen (Vogt) was on the field I had no idea what it was about and they were moving their players all around.
“Obviously health is a premium. Sounds like they’ve got a lot to sort out over there.”
The Guardians. who moved back into first place with the 3-1 win. now face the most difficult kind of baseball equation: how to keep momentum without the player everyone in Cleveland builds around. For the AL Central champions. the final score can’t hide what came after it — an injury that will keep Ramírez off the field for an indefinite stretch. and a second wave of setbacks that forced an immediate lineup reshaping before the night was even done.
José Ramírez hamate fracture Guardians Cleveland Guardians injured list Stephen Vogt Detroit Tigers Chase DeLauter Ángel Martínez AL Central
Hamate bone?? never heard of it but that sounds painful.
Sounds like he tried to play through it then couldn’t squeeze the glove, so yeah that’s scary. Guardians were cooking and then boom, season mood changes.
Wait is this the guy who’s always hurt like every year? I swear I remember a similar injury and everyone said he’d be back in a week. Indefinite just means Cleveland won’t say what’s really going on.
So he fractured his left hand on the swing and they didn’t say anything until after the game? Kinda weird timing. Also hamate bone fracture sounds like some made-up injury name, like it could be nothing, but then “surgery likely” so who knows. Detroit Tigers probably didn’t even do anything special, just baseball swinging stuff and then it’s out for who knows how long.