Guardians Star Is Set To Undergo Offseason Surgery

With the season now over for the Cleveland Guardians after dropping Game 5 of the ALDS to the New York Yankees on Tuesday, star third baseman Jose Ramirez is set to undergo surgery on his hand in the coming weeks.

According to Guardians writer Zack Meisel, the option to have surgery was on the table during the season, but if Ramirez had chosen to undergo surgery then, he would have missed significant time recovering from it.

Ramirez preferred to play through the injury, but in Meisel’s thread on Twitter, it was revealed that Ramirez did sit out two games against the Los Angeles Dodgers in June after suffering the injury and having an MRI.

Can confirm José Ramírez is scheduled to undergo surgery on his right hand in the coming weeks. It was an option midseason, a source said, but he would have missed substantial time and preferred to play through it.

— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) October 19, 2022

Ramirez To Undergo Surgery

What’s most telling about the injury is Ramirez’s slash line after suffering it.

Before sitting out those two games in Los Angeles, Ramirez was hitting for a .305/.397/.642 slash line.

After returning from his brief absence, Ramirez had a .264/.329/.437 slash line.

Clearly, something wasn’t right with the Guardians’ slugger, and the stats show that he was fighting through the pain.

At the end of the day, the Guardians still reached the ALDS and came to within one win of reaching the ALCS.

Had Ramirez had the surgery in June, the Guardians might not have been able to pull away from the rest of the pack in the AL Central quite as easily as they did.

But with the season over, now is the right time for Ramirez to undergo the surgery and rest before spring training.

Ramirez should be ready to go by then.

We’ll see how his recovery goes and if he can recover in time to start the 2023 season.