The Cleveland Indians were dealt a tough blow over the weekend after finding out that All-Star infielder José Ramírez will be sidelined for an extended period of time after suffering a broken hamate bone on Sunday.
The Dominican star felt discomfort in his wrist after a swing in the first inning of Cleveland’s matinee game against the Royals on Sunday and was removed from the game.
Now, he’s expected to miss over a month with a broken bone in his hand, giving the Indians bad news at the wrong time.
Cleveland is in the heart of a playoff chase, trailing the first-place Twins by 3.5 games in the AL Central and with a slight 0.5 game lead in the AL Wild Card race.
Losing an experienced offensive spark plug like Ramírez is the last thing that Cleveland needed at this point in the season.
While 2019 hasn’t been Ramírez’s best year (.254 batting average, 21 home runs), he had been hot in the second half before suffering the injury.
Now, Cleveland is left to look for a replacement for one of its stars that will be up to the task of replacing at least some of his production as they look to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
