March 16: Vogt said Monday that Ramirez felt better and there are no plans to send him for imaging (via Stebbins).
March 15: Guardians superstar Jose Ramirez made an early exit from today’s Spring Training game due to what manager Stephen Vogt described postgame (to MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins and other reporters) as “some left shoulder inflammation.” It is a “day-to-day” situation for now, Vogt said, and presumably the Guardians might do some precautionary tests just to make sure Ramirez’s shoulder doesn’t have any structural issues.
Vogt indicated that the injury occurred when Ramirez slid into third base while stealing the bag in the bottom of the second inning. This means Ramirez still felt good enough to play third for two more innings before Carter Kieboom pinch-hit for Ramirez in the bottom of the fourth, so at least the injury wasn’t serious enough to require an immediate removal.
It is entirely possible Ramirez could be back in action in a couple of days, and this minor shoulder problem becomes just a footnote in another tremendous season for the 33-year-old. Still, any potential injury involving Ramirez is noteworthy, given his status as one of baseball’s top stars and his outsized importance within the Guardians’ lineup.
Ramirez’s 13 seasons in Cleveland has him headed to Cooperstown, as the third baseman has hit .279/.353/.504 with 285 homers and 287 stolen bases over 6759 career plate appearances. Since the start of the 2013 season (Ramirez’s debut year in the majors), only six players have posted more than Ramirez’s 57.7 career fWAR. Ramirez is a perennial AL MVP candidate with four finishes within the top three of voting, including a third-place finish in 2025. Perhaps most importantly from the Guards’ perspective, Ramirez has been willing to accept multiple below-market extensions to remain in Cleveland, including another extension this offseason that will keep him with the Guardians through the 2032 season.
It isn’t a reach to say that any kind of significant injury to Ramirez could ruin the Guards’ 2026 season before it even begins. Even with Ramirez continuing to post MVP-caliber numbers, the Guardians were one of baseball’s worst offensive teams in 2025. After an extremely quiet offseason, Cleveland is running back virtually the same offensive core this year, hoping that a bounce-back season from Steven Kwan, continued development from Kyle Manzardo, and breakout years from rookies Chase DeLauter and George Valera can help the team more consistently produce runs. It’s a risky strategy, and one that still relies heavily on Ramirez being his usual self.
Say car Ramrod!
We’re all day to day.
Wrong Jose Ramirez linked
Let him have his moment.
Best player in baseball. A superstar who plays like he’s trying to make the team.
Great player, not the best player in baseball.
Calm down dude, he’s only 18 and hasn’t even played above the Summer League yet. The prospect hype is getting out of control.
Relax everyone – we have Nolan Jones to pick up the slack, so we’ll hardly miss Ramirez. 🤡
I’m hopeful Ramirez will be back in the lineup soon.
How does Jones still have an MLB roster spot?
Yea and you go on stage at 900 pm goof !
Slide. Feet. First.
At this point it might just be instinct but yeah feet first would be much safer I think.
Especially in spring
An injury outside the WBC!!!
How on earth are the slugs that think the WBC is a waste of time gonna justify this??
The WBC has been a lot of fun to watch. They should do it more often.
Yeah every Wednesday at 2
It’s silly that our great sluggers have to run the bases and get pointlessly injured like this. We need the universal designated runner.
#UniversalDR
Herb Washington: You rang?
Since this is Cleveland, use Bernie Kosar.
So Who’s on third if there’s no JoRam?
I dont know
Who is on first!
Bud and Lou are dead so going to Kieboom……
Bud Billiken and Lou Boudreau?
Shoulder-ectomy in his future? He’ll just learn to throw and catch lefty, and keep putting up numbers!
I’m a big fan of Ramirez, but with the stat line mentioned, and even considering his WAR total, it is not responsible for this writer to just be declaring he will make the Hall of Fame without any equivocation.
It’s really weird how this site just declares players to be Hall of Famer without leaving any nuance by saying even “possibly.” For years, they said it with Goldschmidt and Arenado, and I hardly think they are guaranteed.