José Ramírez to undergo hand surgery

José Ramírez will undergo surgery in the first week of November to repair damage to his right hand, according to his agent Rafa Nieves, who also told ESPN’s Enrique Rojas that he expects Ramírez to be ready and report on time for spring training next year.

Ramírez missed two games back in mid-June due to right thumb soreness. At the time, manager Terry Francona said that the third baseman jammed his thumb during a swing about 10 days before the Guardians’ 7-1 loss to the Dodgers on June 18. After re-aggravating the injury in a series against the Rockies earlier that week, Ramírez sat out the final two games of the series against the Dodgers before returning to the lineup the following Tuesday.

There has been speculation as to how much that thumb impacted Ramírez down the stretch. Leading up to June 18, Ramirez was slashing .305/.397/.642 and posted a 188 wRC+ in 262 plate appearances, putting him firmly in the AL MVP conversation. He cooled down significantly after that, slashing .264/.329/.437 with 108 wRC+ in 423 plate appearances since returning to the lineup on June 21. Ramírez was 10-for-30 with two doubles and a home run in the postseason.