Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez has been ruled out for the rest of the regular season after undergoing surgery for a broken hamate bone in his right hand.
He is expected to miss five to seven weeks, but could possibly return if the Indians reach the American League playoffs that begin Oct. 1. The Indians went into Tuesday’s action in second place in the AL Central, 3 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins. They are leading the wild-card race by one-half of a game over the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays.
Ramirez’s surgery was performed Monday by Dr. Thomas Graham in New York.
On his Instagram account, Ramirez gave a thumbs-up, and wrote, “Thanks to Dr. Graham and his team. The surgery went well. Thanks for all your wishes and Messages. Can’t Wait to be back with the team.”
With Ramirez out of the lineup, the Indians will play rookie Yu Chang, who was pulled from the Triple-A Columbus Clippers roster Saturday night as a provisional big-league replacement, and utility man Mike Freeman at third base. Chang collected his first two big-league hits — a single and triple — Sunday in the Indians’ 9-8 loss to the Kansas City Royals.
Ramirez bent in pain after he fouled the 2-0 pitch from Royals starter Glenn Sparkman on Saturday. After getting checked out by head athletic trainer James Quinlan and Francona, he was pulled from the contest and replaced by Freeman.
Indians manager Terry Francona noted that Ramirez had been dealing with wrist discomfort for a while prior to the contest.
Ramirez, 26, is hitting .254 with 20 home runs, 24 stolen bases and 75 RBIs for the Indians this season. After finishing third in the American League MVP vote each of the last two years, he got off to a slow start, though he’s improved to hit .327 with 13 of his homers in the season’s second half.
