Guardians Superstar To Undergo Surgery

The Cleveland Guardians had a season beyond expectations, winning the AL Central division and taking the New York Yankees to a 5th and deciding game in the Division Series. And as usual, superstar Jose Ramirez led the way. Now we're learning that he may not have been at full health for the past few months. 

Jose Ramirez will undergo surgery on his right hand in early-November, sources tell me and @MandyBell02. Ramirez is expected to be ready for Spring Training.

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) October 19, 2022

J-Ram missed a couple of games earlier this season with a thumb injury, and in 2019 he missed close to a couple of months after surgery on a broken hamate bone in his hand. It's unknown if the planned surgery is in any way related to either of those incidents, though Enrique Rojas of ESPN says the current hand injury did occur midseason, but he fought through it. 

Interesting to note that the four-time All-Star did slow down in the second half after a torrid pace to start the season; it's likely that the hand injury played a factor in that. His home run total was nearly cut in half in the season's final three months, from 19 to 10, while his OPS dipped by nearly 200 points to .778.

Nevertheless, the Guardians franchise player will be back and ready to go for spring training. He signed a 7-year, $141M extension work Cleveland before the 2022 season.

Photo: Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK