Guardians notes: Jose Ramirez, Angel Martinez still on the mend

CLEVELAND — Jose Ramirez was expected to miss 5-7 weeks after undergoing surgery on his left hand on June 16. Today marks five weeks since the procedure to remove the hook of the hamate bone. "He's feeling better each day," manager Stephen Vogt said prior to the series opener against Minnesota on Monday. "We're just getting to the front side of that 5-7 week window. So, for him to be feeling as good as he is right now, we feel really good about that." Monday was a rest day for Ramirez, who is expected to return to baseball activities today. He's been fielding grounders and taking batting practice, and Vogt said Sunday that the seven-time All-Star might not need a minor league rehab assignment. Still, Cleveland won't rush Ramirez, even if he did only miss a month with a similar injury to his right hand in 2019. "He's communicating every day with the medical staff, and medical's putting together a good plan," Vogt said. "They're working together to decide what's best. We trust him. We trust the medical (staff). They're going to make the best decision." Angel Martinez, who broke a bone in his left foot in the same game Ramirez was injured, June 12, against the Tigers at Progressive Field, is nearing his return. He played six innings Sunday in a rehab game for Double-A Akron and is scheduled to play for the RubberDucks again today. "He's feeling really good and it's exciting," Vogt said. The Guardians owned a 14-15 record without Ramirez and Martinez through Sunday. Top of world Steven Kwan was back in the leadoff spot the last two games, with Travis Bazzana right behind him in the batting order. "I really like those guys hitting as often as possible right now," Vogt said. "With Kwany, it feels like he's back to being Kwany. It's not about the hits. It's not about the results. It's more about the at-bat quality that he's taking right now." After struggling offensively for the majority of the first half — and getting dropped to the last spot in the order — Kwan has turned it around in July, entering Monday with a .436 average and .522 on-base percentage. His 1.111 OPS through Sunday was the highest of his career during a single month. "He's a pro. Even the tough start that he got off to, it didn't get him down," Vogt said. "He's been the same teammate, the same guy. I'm really proud of Kwany. "He and I have had some really hard conversations this year. Anytime you're moving somebody in the order or you're maybe taking someone out of the role they're used to it can go one or two ways. And he's chosen to take the challenge and run with it. I didn't expect anything different." Slump ridden It's been a different story for Kyle Manzardo, who is hitting .118 (8-for-69) over his last 22 games and is 2-for-33 with 11 strikeouts in his last 10 games. "He's been struggling a little bit, but we know there's no one in the big leagues that can get hotter. He's one swing away from getting hot," Vogt said of the first baseman, who is batting .208 in 90 games. "There are some mechanical things that have been going on. He's a little bit jumpy. He's kind of in between. But Manzo's one swing away from going on a hot streak. We know that. He knows that. "It is what it is. It's a little bit of a tough stretch for him, but we're all confident that Manzo's going to get back to being Manzo." Stepping up To benefit those affected by the earthquake in Venezuela, Guardians players Brayan Rocchio, Gabriel Arias and Martinez, Vogt, former Cleveland star Carlos Baerga and Twins pitcher Pablo Lopez signed autographs prior to Monday's game. "That was a really cool event today," Vogt said. "I'm thankful that the fans showed up to support what Venezuela's going through, and our players and their families back home. Any way you can support that, you want to help, and it seemed like a pretty big no-brainer to go help raise some money for Venezuela for a good cause. And we have a number of Venezuelans on our team, and we want to support them the best we can." Rocchio and Arias are from Venezuela. Roundin' third Chase DeLauter entered Monday ranked second in the American League behind the Astros' Yordan Alvarez with a .329 batting average since leaving the IL on June 28. … Cleveland entered Monday with a 9.7 percent walk rate, ranking third in the AL and sixth in the majors. Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on X @CAwesomeheimer.