The Guardians don’t expect José Ramírez to be 100 percent physically again until 2027, as a byproduct of the left hamate surgery he underwent in June. Ramírez has continually had to manage his hand months later, and hasn’t been himself offensively along the way. Nevertheless, the Guardians know one thing as well as anyone: Even a physically compromised Ramírez can impact a game, as we saw in a 9-3 victory over the White Sox in Game 3 of the American League Division Series. With the Guardians facing elimination in the best-of-five series, Ramírez scored an insurance run in the fifth inning by flashing both his bat and his elite baserunning. The 34-year-old hit a one-out double off lefty Noah Schultz on a hot smash down the third-base line, stole third base and scored on a Chase DeLauter ground ball hit on a drawn-in infield.
