Cleveland Guardians superstar Jose Ramirez continues to progress from his hand injury.
CLEVELAND - The second that Jose Ramirez was placed on the injured list, the Cleveland Guardians knew it would take an entire team effort to tread water until they could get their superstar back in the lineup.
It’s still going to take a while before Ramirez can rejoin the team, but he’s headed in the right direction and continues to make meaningful progress in his recovery.
President of Baseball Operations Chris Anonetti spoke on Sunday and said the team is still operating on the initial five-to-seven-week timetable provided after Ramirez underwent surgery a few weeks ago.
With that in mind, a realistic return date for Ramirez could be the last week of July or the first week of August.
The good news for the Guardians and Ramirez is that he’s making meaningful progress, even though a return is still in the distant future.
“It's really individual specific. It's how well the recovery site heals, how much discomfort they have over the surgery site and when they can progress activities,” explained Antonetti.
“So far, Josey has met or exceeded all of those checkpoints along the way. Hopefully, it will be on the shorter side of that, but again, he still has a lot of activity to, or a lot of boxes to check between now and then.”
Jun 8, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) celebrates after scoring during the third inning against the New York Yankees at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn ImagesIn terms of baseball activities, Ramirez was seen fielding ground balls at third base late last week, and he’s begun hitting off a tee, too. He will then progress to taking overhand batting practice within the coming days.
Cleveland isn’t going to rush Ramirez back, but they still desperately need him back to get back to the postseason. The Guardians are 6-10 since Ramirez was injured, and the lineup owns a .223/.294/.351 slash line over that stretch.
Ramirez was having a slow start to the season for his standards, with a .239/.339/.418 slashline on the 2026 campaign. However, he was finally starting to find his stride with an .800 OPS in his 15 games before the injury.
Right now, the Guardians can only hope that Ramirez’s recovery continues as scheduled and that Cleveland doesn’t fall too far back in the American League Central or American League Wild Card race.
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