Jose Ramirez's Postseason Struggles Are Becoming Impossible to Ignore

Jose Ramirez has been one of baseball's most underrated players over his 14-year career. He’s an undersized player with an awkward build who does everything you want out of a franchise cornerstone. More than that, he represents Cleveland better than any other star in the league does for their city. And maybe most importantly, he’s consistently signed contracts well under market value to play his entire career in Cleveland.

Because of everything mentioned above, he’s avoided a lot of criticism throughout his career. This year alone, he battled through a brutal broken hamate, and his ability to even be on the diamond this postseason should be commended; however, either you’re healthy enough to play, or you shouldn’t be out there, and Jose Ramirez maybe shouldn’t be.

Since returning from injury on 7/22, Ramirez is slashing .229/.296/.302 with a wRC+ of 18, one of the worst in baseball. So any struggles you see from him this postseason aren’t just a fluke; he’s been the worst hitter in baseball since July.

But postseason struggles aren’t new to Jose Ramirez. Despite his successes, he’s been quite mediocre in October. Since Cleveland has regularly played postseason baseball with Ramirez, he’s had plenty of opportunities. In 46 postseason appearances, Jose has an OPS of just .684, has only 2 stolen bases, and, worst of all, has hit only 4 home runs.

He’s also lacked many magical postseason moments. The best part of the MLB postseason is seeing the best players step up in the biggest moments. Jose did have one big moment in 2022: his 6th-inning home run were the only runs Cleveland would score in a 2-1 win over the Rays in the Wild Card.

To give Ramirez some benefit of the doubt, he’s been the only competent hitter in Cleveland’s lineup since 2018. He’s never had any protection in the lineup, and I truly believe that’s made him press at the plate. However, while Cleveland’s lineup as a whole is still rough, Steven Kwan, Chase DeLauter, Jo Adell, Travis Bazzana, and Nathaniel Lowe provide some real protection.

Of course, the whole lineup struggled in a 3-0 game-one loss, but this is about more than one game, or even one series. Ramirez has been consistently inconsistent in October, and he’s got a chance to change that with a series comeback against the White Sox. With a lockout looming and the AL Central developing more young talent, Ramirez will have only so many chances to be a postseason star for Cleveland.