For anyone whose perspective is “Expect the Worst” as a Cleveland sports fan, tonight must have come as no surprise as Jose Ramirez fractured his left hamate.
It’s unclear if Jose will get surgery or wait for the situation to heal, but somewhere between 4-8 weeks is the recovery time and a hitter’s power can be sapped for a while afterwards. Jose was on his way to a 60-steal season and looking to take the franchise lead in home runs, so, even though his numbers looked pedestrian compared to his career norms, this is about as big a blow as the Guardians can sustain, short of a season-ending injury to Ramirez (God-forbid).
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From the looks of Columbus’ lineup activities, Gabriel Arias will be called up and probably take Jose’s place as the primary third baseman (spelled occasionally by Daniel Schneemann). The good news is that Arias should be a great defensive replacement. The bad news is that no one is Jose Ramirez offensively and Arias is very likely to be at least a 30 wRC+ drop from Jose’s expected output. On the positive side, the next 4-8 weeks should finally put a bow on the Arias experience for the Guardians; he will either hit enough to be a league average hitter or they can DFA him when Jose returns.
Chase DeLauter was also removed after crashing into a wall with what was described as a rib confusion. CJ Kayfus being removed from the Columbus game late makes me suspect this may end up being an IL stint. Hopefully, just a 15-day variety, but that’s definitely a blow. I see folks asking for George Valera or Kahlil Watson. I would have chosen Valera, myself, but Kayfus’s September from last year should not be forgotten where he put up a 126 wRC+. He can take a walk and he’s got some pop. Let him handle left field for a while and see what he’s got, I suppose, is the mindset.
I am sure that we are not far from a Watson debut or a Valera return engagement. Watson and Kayfus have some similar red flags as hitters, so I can’t argue too much there. I do think Valera has shown more signs of consistent plate discipline and power than Kayfus, but his defense looked borderline unplayable in most recent instances. I think it’s Kayfus for a bit and then if he isn’t showing much and DeLauter needs more time, we will see Valera before the All-Star break. But, hopefully, we will not be missing Chase that long.
Angel Martinez also has a foot bruise and is day-to-day. “Oh, what a night!” As the Four Seasons once said. Only in a much more somber tone from me.
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The way this team responds to losing the leader of their team and future Hall of Famer will define the 2026 season. If they can find a way to pull together and win baseball games at a .500 level in his absence, that should be a great confidence builder for this group. If not, well… they will have some ground to make up in August and September and they have done that before.
I hope everyone remembers to go and vote Jose to the All-Star game. He deserves the selection and it will be a way for us to show our appreciation to a player whose absence we are about to feel keenly, even if the team is able to step up during his recovery.
