Guardians dealing with uncomfortable Jose Ramirez question

The Cleveland Guardians are looking to make the postseason after an up-and-down year in a wide-open American League postseason hunt.

Heading into August 25th, the Guardians are 0.5 games up on the Houston Astros for the third and final AL Wild Card spot. It's going to be close, and the Guardians really need to get hot to separate themselves and feel comfortable about a postseason spot.

As they pursue such a postseason berth, the Guardians are facing an uncomfortable question on Jose Ramirez. The future Hall of Famer is struggling, and as Tim Britton of The Athletic questioned, when will Ramirez finally show up in the second half?

Guardians facing Jose Ramirez question amid second-half struggles

"When will the real Jose Ramirez show up?" Britton writes. "The Guardians have stayed in the hunt in the American League thanks to a resurgent rotation and a big-time return to form from Steven Kwan in the second half of the season. They're waiting on the same from Ramirez, who, after missing a month with a hamate fracture, has looked nothing like his usual self."

It shouldn't be a massive surprise that the Guardians' future Hall of Famer is struggling coming back mid-season from an injury.

But that doesn't mean it's not a major issue for the Guardians. After landing on the injured list in mid-June, Ramirez has been out for a while, only returning to play on July 22.

In the 26 games since his return, the Guardians have gone 11-15, and Ramirez has struggled mightily across his 93 at-bats.

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During that time, Ramirez had just 21 hits with two doubles and no home runs or triples. He has six RBIs, a .226 batting average, and a brutal .568 OPS.

Ramirez has a .708 OPS for the season, even with this brutal stretch, which only shows how terrible he's been compared to his normal production.

An .848 OPS for his career compared to the .568 OPS since his return from injury highlights just how worrying things are for the Guardians' third baseman.

He's their biggest question mark as the season moves along, and if he can't return to form soon, then the Guardians are going to have a very tough time making the postseason.

This is an uncomfortable question for Cleveland, as Ramirez has been a stalwart for years, and now he might be the reason why they fail to make the postseason if these struggles continue.

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