Malagined Guardians’ lineup change may have actually helped unlock José Ramírez

For the better part of the past decade, José Ramírez has been a staple as the Guardians’ No. 3 hitter. Not only has he been the heartbeat of Cleveland’s lineup in that time, but he’s also blossomed into one of the best hitters in baseball.  

But just because he’s mostly known as a No. 3 hitter doesn’t mean that he doesn’t occasionally hit in some other spots in the lineup when the Guardians need a spark. 

That theme has played out this week, as Guardians manager Stephen Vogt moved Ramírez up to the No. 2 spot in the Guardians’ lineup in Wednesday’s series finale against the Angels before doing it again on Friday. 

While that lineup change came in a 7-6 loss to the Reds, Ramírez did his part with a 3-for-4 showing with a double and RBI. That looks a lot more like the kind of Ramírez performance that we’re used to.

José Ramírez may have just become the Guardians’ new No. 2 hitter

He entered play on Friday with a .207/.340/.366 slashline, which would be the lowest numbers he posted in those categories since his injury plagued 2019 season. 

That said, he’s still been able to provide some value with his legs, as he’s stolen an MLB-leading 18 bases, which is more than the Giants, Blue Jays and Astros have recorded as a team. 

But he may have found something on Friday, which was his first three-hit game of the season and his second multi-hit game since April 19. 

After grounding out in his first at-bat, Ramírez recorded back-to-back singles up the middle in his next two at-bats before roping a double down the right field line in his final at-bat in the seventh inning. They were three classic Ramírez swings. 

The bad news is that the Guardians never found a way to bring him home. His third inning single came with one out and was followed by a line out, walk and ground, and both of his other hits were followed by two out line outs from Chase DeLauter. 

That inability to bring Ramírez home is a perfect example of the downside that comes with hitting him second, as his ability to get on base is only as good as his teammate’s ability to get him in. 

And the middle of the Guardians’ lineup did its job for the most part, as Rhys Hoskins, Angel Martínez and Travis Bazzana all picked up hits; they just never really got a chance to drive Ramírez in since most of his hits came with two outs. 

Last year Vogt opened the season with Ramírez hitting second, but he hit .261 in 16 games before that experiment ended. 

While it still remains to be seen if Ramírez’s batting order change is an experiment or the start of a permanent position change, his performance on Friday was a clear step in the right direction after his sluggish start to the season.

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