KANSAS CITY -- Jos¨¦ Ram¨ªrez was not in the Guardians¡¯ starting lineup for Sunday¡¯s 6-2 win against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium due to a right wrist sprain, but Cleveland appears to have avoided a worst-case scenario with its All-Star third baseman.
¡°He passed all the tests [and the] imaging was negative,¡± manager Stephen Vogt said pregame Sunday. ¡°He¡¯s just day to day, hopefully ready to go [Monday]. He could be available off the bench today in a big spot.
¡°We also want to be super cautious with this and make sure it doesn¡¯t turn into something that¡¯s going to linger.¡±
Vogt noted there is ¡°nothing structurally wrong, so it's just getting the swelling and the soreness¡± out of Ram¨ªrez¡¯s wrist. Gabriel Arias drew the start at third base on Sunday.
Ram¨ªrez suffered the injury in the third inning of Saturday¡¯s 4-3 loss to the Royals when he slid awkwardly headfirst into second base on a stolen-base attempt. His right wrist got pinned under his chest during the slide.
Ram¨ªrez initially stayed in the game, but he did not appear 100 percent after the slide. He made a low throw to first baseman Carlos Santana on a Bobby Witt Jr. groundout in the fourth. In his final at-bat in the fifth, Ram¨ªrez¡¯s right hand awkwardly came off his bat after he fouled a pitch off. He grounded out on the next pitch and exited the game in the sixth.
¡°The throw he made after and the swing, neither one of them looked great,¡± Vogt said.
Arias (who also replaced Ram¨ªrez at third on Saturday) has made 44 career appearances at third, including 37 starts). Daniel Schneemann is also an option at third; he made 17 appearances (12 starts) there in 2024.
¡°No matter where we put Gabby on the field, he¡¯s going to be one of the best defenders,¡± Vogt said. ¡°He¡¯s super comfortable [at third], and we got him enough reps in Spring Training at all three [infield] spots -- same with Schnee. So they can move around and flip-flop and do what we need to do.¡±