Guardians keeping Jose Ramirez out of action Sunday after leaving Saturday's contest in Kansas City

In what should come as no surprise, Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez is not in the lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Kansas City Royals.

Ramirez exited Saturday's 4-3 loss in Kansas City with what was described as a wrist sprain. The injury is speculated to have occurred during a failed stolen base attempt that saw Ramirez slide awkwardly while attempting to miss a tag at second base.

Considering that only two games have been played and that there are 160 more to go, playing it safe with Ramirez was the obvious choice here for the Guardians. Cleveland has to focus on what their long-term goals are and what course of action must be taken to achieve them. No matter the goal, Ramirez should figure to play a key part in most of them. Keeping Ramirez out of action this early should help them be more successful over the entire season rather than chance him injuring his wrist further by playing through it.

With Ramirez out of the starting lineup, the Guardians are turning to Gabriel Arias to hold down the fort at third until Cleveland's perennial All-Star and American League MVP candidate can return. As long as Arias can provide anything other than replacement level production, the Guardians should be able to manage until Ramirez can return.

Hopefully, this is a short-term absence for Ramirez, and he will be able to return to action sooner rather than later. Cleveland's early season schedule is far from what anyone would consider to be a cakewalk, with an upcoming three-game series with the San Diego Padres on deck following the conclusion of Sunday's contest in Kansas City. Ramirez returning at some point in San Diego, ideally on Monday, would give them the best chance to remain competitive with one of the better teams in Major League Baseball.