Before the Cleveland Guardians completed a badly needed three-game sweep of the Houston Astros on Wednesday night, Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez surprisingly announced he’ll be skipping next week’s All-Star Game to rest the ankle, heel and Achilles tendon that’s been bothering him since he picked up the initial injury on May 2.
While speaking with reporters, Ramirez indicated this wasn’t an easy decision to make, regardless of how he’s been feeling through the first few weeks of the summer.
“I spent a long time thinking about it,” Ramirez explained, as shared by Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “I’ve been working with [manager Stephen Vogt] to try to take some time whenever possible to rest the ankle while DHing. I’ve been trying to think about the team in the second half, too. I think it’s best for the team for me to get some rest.”
Per ESPN stats, Ramirez entered Thursday leading the Guardians among qualified players with a .301 batting average, an .878 OPS, 17 home runs and 45 RBI on the season. That said, he endured a noteworthy slump after he was hit in the right forearm by a fastball on June 26. Specifically, Baseball Reference shows he went 0-for-20 with a walk and four strikeouts in his first five games back from that setback.
Ramirez looked more like his All-Star self as he hit homers in each of Cleveland’s three wins against Houston.
“I can’t tell you if it’s affected or helped my performance, but in reality I’ve been in pain all this time,” Ramirez acknowledged. “It’s really difficult to play knowing you have that pain.”
The Guardians need Ramirez as healthy as possible and in the lineup if they are to avoid becoming sellers ahead of the July 31 trade deadline. Cleveland dropped 10 straight games to fall 40-48 before the Houston series. The Athletic’s Jim Bowden believes that closer Emmanuel Clase and outfielder Steven Kwan could be made available to contenders if Cleveland’s front office elects to punt on the remainder of the campaign.
However, a suddenly hot Guardians team opens a four-game series at the 31-62 Chicago White Sox on Thursday evening. The fact that Cleveland could inch closer to .500 ahead of the All-Star break seemingly wasn’t lost on Ramirez as of Wednesday night.
“My family really wants to go,” Ramirez added about his All-Star call. “But I feel it’s best for me not to go. If you go, you have to take part in all those great events and I want to get as much rest as possible.”
