José Ramírez injury scare should spark Guardians spring training shutdown

While spring training offers MLB teams and players a great opportunity to get ready before the start of the regular season, it inevitably leads to injuries that change the tenor of a team’s season. 

The Guardians got that scare in a huge way on Sunday when star infielder José Ramírez exited Sunday’s spring training game due to left shoulder inflammation that popped up after he slid into third base during the Guardians’ spring outing against the A’s. 

Although manager Stephen Vogt described Ramírez as “day-to-day” after the game, it was a wake up call that should (hopefully) lead to Vogt and the Guardians wrapping Ramírez in bubble wrap for the rest of the spring. 

There’s no need for José Ramírez to suit up for the Guardians again in spring training

One of Ramírez’s best traits is that he’s a gamer who is willing to play everyday, but there’s still no need to run the risk of further injury by playing him in any more exhibition games this spring. 

After his 1-for-2 showing on Sunday, he now has an on-base percentage of .333 and a slugging percentage of .500 this spring. He’s clearly ready. 

Simply put, there’s no chance the Guardians would be able to do much of anything this season without Ramírez, and there’s no point in risking that when the games don’t matter. The Guardians are playing for a lot more than spring results. 

Last season Ramírez slashed .283/.360/.503 with 30 home runs, 85 RBI and 44 steals en route to winning his sixth career Silver Slugger award. There’s arguably no player in baseball more important to their team than Ramírez. 

While the Guardians’ lineup should be better in 2026 thanks to the presence of Chase DeLauter, George Valera and others, part of the reason they could all have good seasons is because they have Ramírez serving as protection for them in the lineup. 

All that protection would disappear if Ramírez was forced to miss any time. And it’s not like the Guardians have a murder’s row behind him. If Ramírez isn’t in the lineup then Gabriel Arias, Brayan Rocchio and Daniel Schneemann (who is nursing an injury of his own) would become even more important. 

While all three of those players can help winning in their own way, none of them can hold a candle to Ramírez (and very few players can). 

We should find out more about Ramírez’s status later today, but that update shouldn’t change anything about the Guardians’ next steps. The next time Ramírez steps foot on a baseball diamond should be at T-Mobile Park on March 26 for Opening Day.