Jose Ramírez – José Ramírez is progressing through recovery from left-hand surgery and is expected to begin overhand batting practice within days, with the Guardians still targeting his return later this month after the All-Star break.
CLEVELAND — José Ramírez is closer to the batter’s box again.
The Cleveland Guardians third baseman has been making steady progress since having a portion of the hamate bone in his left hand removed on June 16. He’ll soon move from the early stages of rehabilitation to actually swinging again. with the club planning for him to start taking batting practice “over the next couple days.”.
Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said Ramírez has been hitting off a tee. The switch-hitting star is scheduled to advance to overhand batting practice shortly after that.
The timeline remains cautious. Antonetti said the original 5-to-7-week recovery window is unchanged. and the Guardians still expect Ramírez back later this month following the All-Star break. When Ramírez had the same procedure done on his right hand in 2019. he returned in 30 days — but Antonetti made clear that this time won’t be automatically similar.
“It’s really individual specific,” Antonetti said Sunday when asked if Ramírez could be back sooner. “It’s how well the recovery site heals, how much discomfort they have over the surgery site and when they can progress to activity.
“So far, Hosey has met or exceeded all of those checkpoints along the way. So hopefully we’ll be on the shorter side of that. But again, he still has a lot of activity or a lot of boxes to check between now and then.”
Ramírez’s absence has been more than a personnel hit. The seven-time All-Star was out after injuring his hand while making a swing against the Detroit Tigers three days earlier. Before the injury. he was batting .239 with 10 homers and 33 RBIs. despite being one of the league’s most dangerous runners with 24 steals. His .278 career batting average only underscores what the Guardians have been navigating without him.
They’ve done it while keeping themselves in the race. Cleveland entered its four-game series finale against Chicago at 47-43, one-thousandth of a percent behind the White Sox (46-42) atop the AL Central.
Staying competitive has required constant adaptation. The Guardians have leaned on numerous rookies while also managing other injuries. They have been without outfielder Angel Martinez, who is dealing with a nondisplaced fracture in his left foot. More recently, rookie slugger Chase DeLauter returned from the injured list. Ramírez, Martinez and DeLauter were all injured in the same game.
Antonetti pointed to the collective challenge the team has faced — and the way they’ve tried to respond.
“It’s obviously been a lot to overcome,” Antonetti said. “But I think that’s been one of the hallmarks of this group, not only this year, but over the last few years is finding a way to overcome adversity. We know we have our work cut out for us.
“There’s still a ways to go before we get to the break and we know we need to continue to try to find ways to string together some wins. Our pitching staff has done a really good job of giving us a chance to stay in almost every game. We’ve found a way to score just enough to keep our heads above water. Obviously. there’s continued room for improvement on both sides of the ball. but yeah. hopefully we can continue to find a way to win.”.
For Martinez, the news carried its own momentum. Antonetti said Martinez felt good after taking batting practice and fielding grounders on Saturday. The outfielder is projected to rejoin the club following the July 13-16 break.
José Ramírez Guardians Cleveland Guardians hamate bone surgery batting practice All-Star break Chris Antonetti Angel Martinez Chase DeLauter AL Central