One of the American League championship contenders lost a major piece Saturday when Cleveland Indians infielder Jose Ramirez broke a bone in his hand during a game against the Kansas City Royals.
The team placed Ramirez on the injured list after the game but said it did not have a timetable on the star’s return. It’s possible he could return in time for the postseason.
We have a roster move:but str
– Placed 3B José Ramírez (fractured hamate, right hand) on the 10-day Injured List.
– Recalled INF Yu Chang from AAA Columbus.#RallyTogether pic.twitter.com/75qjYT8NFj— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) August 25, 2019
An unfortunate accident
The injury occurred as Ramirez fouled off a pitch early in the Indians’ home game against Kansas City, but strangely enough, neither the ball nor bat hit his hand. He appeared to wrench his hand in such a way that it broke the bone.
Ramirez was clearly shaken up and had to leave the game before another pitch was thrown. Mike Freeman came in for Ramirez and played the rest of the game and figures to be his replacement for as long as he’s out.
Ramirez had been dealing with a wrist injury, but Indians manager Terry Francona said this injury wasn’t related.
After dealing with a wrist issue, Jose Ramirez has exited the game. pic.twitter.com/iubKmW0hxK
— SportsTime Ohio (@SportsTimeOhio) August 24, 2019
Chances of return?
Ramirez had an MRI after leaving the game to determine the severity of the injury, but the team still isn’t saying how long he might be out.
Ramirez was hitting .254 with 20 home runs and 75 RBIs this season, though he had picked it up tremendously in the second half. Since the All-Star break, the star was hitting .327/.365/.705 and had looked more like he did the past two seasons. Ramirez was third in AL MVP voting in both 2017 and 2018.
Terrible news for the Cleveland #Indians: Third baseman Jose Ramirez has been diagnosed with a fractured hamate bone in his right hand and goes on the injured list. He’ll be replaced by infielder Yu Chang. Ramirez had a .327/.363/.705 slash line in the 2nd half.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 25, 2019
(h/t ESPN.com)
