Guardians: Jose Ramirez, Angel Martinez progressing well, according to team president Chris Antonetti

CLEVELAND — Chris Antonetti provided positive updates Sunday on two of the Guardians' injured regulars, third baseman Jose Ramirez and outfielder Angel Martinez. According to the team president, Ramirez has begun hitting off a tee and is expected to start taking live batting practice over the next couple days. Martinez worked out prior to Saturday's game against the White Sox. "Both guys have recovery days today, but are progressing really well," Antonetti said. "You probably saw Angel was on the field, took batting practice, did some ground base conditioning and felt good with all activities, and Jose's been doing a lot of baseball work. He's also begun his hitting progression, so both guys are progressing really well." Ramirez had surgery to remove the hook of the hamate bone in his left hand on June 16 and was expected to miss 5-7 weeks, while Martinez is recovering from a left foot fracture. Both players, along with outfielder Chase DeLauter, were injured in the same game, June 13, against the Tigers at Progressive Field. DeLauter was activated from the injured list June 28, and the team is looking for Ramirez and Martinez to return for the second half. "We're still working through calendars on that, but both guys have progressed really well, so we're hopeful at some point after the All-Star break," Antonetti said. "Exactly when, we don't have a specific timeframe yet, but they'll keep working." Ramirez suffered a similar injury to his right hand in 2019 and returned in a month. "It's really individual specific," Antonetti said. "It's how well the recovery site heals, how much discomfort they have over the surgery site and when they can progress to activity. So far, Hosey has met or exceeded all of those checkpoints along the way. So, hopefully we'll be on the shorter side of that. But again, he still has a lot of activity or a lot of boxes to check between now and then." The Guardians, who have seen nine players make their MLB debuts this year and regularly rely on multiple rookies, have been able to stay afloat in the Central Division. Cleveland entered the series finale Sunday against the White Sox in a first-place tie with Chicago, owning an 8-10 record without Ramirez and Martinez. "It's obviously been a lot to overcome, but I think that's been one of the hallmarks of this group, not only this year, but over the last few years is finding a way to overcome adversity," Antonetti said. "And we know we have our work cut out for us. There's still a ways to go before we get to the break and we know we need to continue to try to find ways to string together some wins. "Our pitching staff has done a really good job of giving us a chance to stay in almost every game. We've found a way to score just enough to keep our heads above water. Obviously, there's continued room for improvement on both sides of the ball, but hopefully we can continue to find a way to win." Comeback kid? Steven Kwan had hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games through Saturday, as he tries to emerge from a season-long struggle at the plate. He hit .306 (11-for-36) with a double, triple and .359 on-base percentage over the span. "I've been really encouraged by the last week or so of at-bats, where he's started to get back to some of the things that have made Steven successful, but it's been a tough start to the year for him," Antonetti said. "I think we all have grown accustomed to seeing Steven be so consistent, offensively, put the ball in play consistently at productive angles to get on base and contribute, offensively. That's just been tougher for him to do for the bulk of this year. "He's worked really hard with (hitting coach) Grant (Fink) and our hitting coaches to try to find some level of consistency to be the offensive contributor we know he's capable of being. I'm hopeful and encouraged that the second half will be better than the first half." Analytics have shown that Kwan's bat has slowed this season, but Antonetti doesn't necessarily believe that is what is at the root of the outfielder's struggles. "Bat speed has never been his calling card. I think Steven can be successful being the same type of hitter he's been in the past," Antonetti said. "Some of it's a function of, if you get yourself in bad counts and you might have more capabilities swinging the bat faster. You're just not doing it as consistently because you're caught in between. "So, just as you're looking at bat speed measurements, you may want to be thinking about not only what the average is but look maybe a little bit deeper than that. Your average bat speed's going to look a lot better than maybe if you're behind in the count or if you're caught in between and just kind of feeling for the ball." Next up The Guardians finish the first half on the road, beginning a three-game series in Minnesota on Tuesday night at 7:40. LHP Joey Cantillo (7-3, 3.86 ERA) opens the set for Cleveland while RHP Slade Cecconi (4-6, 4.44) goes Wednesday night (7:40). RHP Gavin Williams (9-4, 3.89) starts the series finale Wednesday (1:40 p.m.). The Twins have yet to set their rotation. The Guardians play their final series before the All-Star break against the Marlins in Miami on Friday through Sunday. Roundin' third Second baseman Travis Bazzana and starting pitcher Parker Messick gave Cleveland five rookie All-Stars since the inception of the award in 1933, and its first since first base coach Sandy Alomar in 1990. The other two are pitchers Dick Stigman (1960) and Herb Score (1955). ** The Guardians have employed only five starting pitchers for 89 games, the longest streak without a sixth starter in team history in front of 1999 (79 games). Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on X @CAwesomeheimer.