Guardians Injuries: Angel Martínez and Jose Ramírez nearing returns, Ben Lively back on mound

On Monday night, the Cleveland Guardians had their own personal home run derby against the Minnesota Twins in a 13-4 win. But that wasn’t the only win the Guardians got, as fans got some good news about Angel Martínez and Jose Ramírez.

While the Guardians have a golden opportunity to add some reinforcements at the trade deadline, the addition of Martínez and Ramírez would rival any external additions.

Here’s what to know. 

Angel Martínez is closing in on MLB return

While Martínez (foot fracture) and Jose Ramírez (left hamate fracture) both suffered their injuries on June 13, Martínez is a bit further along and could make his return at some point this week. 

He kicked off a rehab assignment this weekend at Triple-A Columbus (he went 2-for-4 with two doubles) and is set to continue that assignment this week at Double-A Akron (Columbus is on the road). 

The next hurdle he needs to clear is playing all nine innings, and it seems like he could make his return to the bigs not long after that’s cleared. 

His return can’t come soon enough given he showcased some much-needed power prior to going on the injured list (he’s still tied for the team lead with 11 home runs). 

Jose Ramírez keeps trending in direction 

Even if Ramírez isn’t at the same point as Martínez, he’s also getting closer to his big league return. Monday marked five weeks since he initially suffered his injury, so it seems like he’s going to make his return right in the middle of the 5-7 week window that was initially projected. 

Stephen Vogt reiterated on Monday that Ramírez may not need a minor league rehab assignment, which is a great sign. 

While the Guardians have gone 15-15 without Ramírez, they desperately need Ramírez back, and yesterday’s update was a great step in the right direction. 

Carlos Hernández and Ben Lively made their returns to the mound 

Last year the Guardians nabbed Hernández off waivers after Emmanuel Clase was placed on paid leave, and he ended up providing the Guardians with seven serviceable innings before being designated for assignment after the season. 

He re-signed with the Guardians on a minor league contract, but his career took a backseat in January when he was injured in a car accident in Venezuela that resulted in him suffering a fracture in his left arm and his right leg. 

But he took a huge step in his return to play this month by returning to the mound in the Arizona Complex League, where he’s thrown five scoreless innings. His last time out he tossed two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. 

Although Hernández won’t fit into the Guardians big league picture this year, the mere fact that he’s healthy and back on the mound is a win in itself. 

And he’s not the only injured Guardians pitcher who is taking some steps to get back to being a factor in their pitching plans.

Last week injured pitcher Ben Lively threw live batting practice, marking the first big step in his return from last year’s Tommy John surgery. 

He signed a two-year minor league deal with the Guardians in February that could prove to be a shrewd signing if he’s able to come back and be the same kind of pitcher he was pre-injury. 

Lively helped save the Guardians’ rotation in 2024 and was putting together another solid season in 2025 prior to suffering the injury, so it’s not a stretch to imagine him pushing the envelope for a big league return at some point next season (assuming his rehab continues to go well). 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow