Guardians notes: Jose Ramirez on pace for historic RBI season

CLEVELAND — Make way for Jose Ramirez. He has joined the elite sluggers in franchise history. Ramirez pulled into the final day of May on Tuesday owning the third-most RBIs by a Guardians player prior to June 1 with 51. He trailed only Manny Ramirez (63 in 1999) and Albert Belle (54 in 1996) and is in front of Al Rosen (49 in 1954). Terry Francona managed both Jose and Manny Ramirez (in Boston) and was asked to compare two of the biggest run producers to wear a Cleveland uniform. "They're so different. I used to laugh, because Manny in the batter's box, boy, look out, but when he left the batter's box, look out," Francona joked. "Josey is a premier player everywhere on the field. He impacts the game everywhere. If you're talking about Josey in those comparisons, that's a pretty big compliment, probably to both guys." One major similarity between the two stars is the ability to plate runs. Manny Ramirez produced a career-high 165 RBIs in '99, driving in 145 the year before for Cleveland while collecting 144 RBIs with the Red Sox in 2005. He reached the 100-RBI level 12 times during a 19-year career. Jose Ramirez has reached the 100-RBI level twice in seven seasons, 105 in 2018 and 103 last year, but with his major league-leading total through Monday was on pace to drive in 187 runs this season — four off the pace of the major league record set by Hack Wilson for the Cubs in 1930. "I think some guys know how to drive in runs and Jose has certainly grown into that," Francona said. "He's so smart, especially with our lineup. We're young, so he gets pitched to like nobody's business, but he's so smart that he still finds a way to be that productive." Doctor's office Right-hander Aaron Civale had a procedure performed Tuesday at Cleveland Clinic on his upper buttocks injury. There is no official timetable for the return of Civale, who was placed on the injured list May 22. "It's almost like a football injury where you fall but you don't just fall, you scrape it, too. So, there was some blood (buildup)," Francona said. "(Doctors) are going to aspirate that and hopefully that will really speed up the process." What's up? Reliever Trevor Stephan has hit a rough patch after a stellar start to the season. The right-hander didn't allow a run over his first 10 appearances — 12 strikeouts — but has surrendered runs in four of his last five games (five earned runs, nine hits and two strikeouts) through Monday. "I think, in general, that split (finger fastball) became such a weapon that he kinda fell in love with it," Francona said. "He's gotten away from throwing his slider. We gotta get him back to (throwing) three pitches, locating the fastball. He's gotten himself where he has to throw a fastball in fastball counts and he gets in trouble." Stephan, acquired from the Yankees in the Rule 5 Draft in 2020, has pitched in high leverage spots in only his second year in the big leagues. "We've given him a lot," Francona said. "This is a Rule 5 kid who's all of the sudden pitching in the eighth inning. To think it is going to be seamless probably isn't fair." Night off Rookie outfielder Steven Kwan was not in the lineup Tuesday, having cooled substantially since a red hot start to the season — .173 (13-for-75) over 21 games in May. "I think he's been fighting with his timing, and his swing naturally is a little bit (elevated)," Francona said of Kwan, who entered the month batting .340 but saw his average dip to .244 through Monday. "I also think this is his first time through the league. He's gonna have to make adjustments, trying to figure out when you're not at your best, 'How can I still succeed?' I do think we kinda feel that we'll bet on him." Roundin' third Oscar Gonzalez entered Tuesday with hits in each of his first four career MLB games. After his two-hit performance Monday, Gonzalez became the first Cleveland player to record multihit games in three of his first four games since Roy Weatherly in 1936. l Cleveland had struck out a major league-low 320 times through Monday. Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.