Cleveland Indians: Harold Ramirez taking advantage of opportunity

Harold Ramirez taking advantage of opportunity with Cleveland Indians

At the beginning of the season the Cleveland Indians had a slew of potential outfielders, but only one or two answers at best. After signing in the offseason, it was pretty certain that Eddie Rosario would occupy one spot. Similarly, it was assumed that Josh Naylor would be given priority after arriving through the Mike Clevinger trade last season. Beyond those two, it was a free-for-all with essentially two spots up for grabs, being a centerfielder and the backup role.

One player emerged rather quickly in Jordan Luplow, playing well in the early going of the year and securing a spot in the lineup. Beyond that, the early portion of the season has had just as many questions as the offseason. There was a handful of players in the mix, but none caught on. Ben Gamel and Amed Rosario saw time, but fell short of expectations and Daniel Johnson had maybe the worst game you can have at the plate. Then, Harold Ramirez was given a shot.

Now, we’ve only been able to see Ramirez for three games, but in those three games he already looks a lot better than any of the other players the Cleveland Indians have attempted to put in the outfield. There have been some communication issues in the outfield with a few near run-ins, but that’s to be expected when center field has been a rotating door all season. It makes it difficult on everyone in the outfield to reach any sort of rhythm or chemistry.

This isn’t the first time Harold Ramirez has broke into the majors. He spent the last two seasons with the Miami Marlins, playing 119 games during the 2019 season before three in the 2020 campaign. Cleveland then selected him off the waivers in February.

With Miami, Ramirez showed that the biggest strength of his game isn’t at the plate, but in the field. He’s played all three outfield spots, spending the most time in left field and the least in center. However, he’s managed to maintain a .996 fielding percentage with just one career error, coming in left field.

As for at the plate, his success in Cleveland might be an anomaly from his typical stat line. He’s not going to be able to maintain a .400+ batting average. However, if he can settle along the lines of his average stats from Miami, then the Tribe might have a steal in the outfield to complete the position group with Eddie Rosario, Naylor and Luplow.

In Miami, Ramirez slashed .274/.311/.411 with 20 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs and 51 RBI over 122 total games with the Marlins. Most of those stats, of course, came during the 2019 season when he played 119 games. In the far larger sample size of a single season, Ramirez hit .276/.312/.416 with all of his extra base hits and all but one of the RBI.

In Cleveland, Ramirez has had yet another small sample size, but it’s been more promising than what he showed during the 2020 season in Miami.

The first game with the Tribe for Ramirez saw him go 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored out of the sixth spot in the lineup. As for the second game, he went 2-for-4 with another double, another run scored and an RBI, this time from the fifth spot in the batting order. As for last night’s game, Ramirez dropped down to seventh in the order and while he came back down to Earth a bit, he’s still had a hot start to his season in the majors.

Three games isn’t enough to know if Ramirez can be what the Cleveland Indians have been looking for, but he’s certainly taking advantage of the opportunity he’s been presented. Even if he sees his stats settle back down to where they were in Miami, that would be an upgrade over what the team has been able to get out of the other players who have been given the same opportunity. However, if he continues to play the way he has been able to in his first three games, then the Tribe might have struck gold by claiming him off waivers from the Marlins and found their fourth outfielder at least, maybe even more if he grows into a bigger role.