Guardians 3B José Ramírez activated from paternity list, rookie Kyle Manzardo sent back to minors

CLEVELAND (AP) — Guardians third baseman José Ramírez was activated from the paternity list Tuesday before AL Central-leading Cleveland opened a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners.

Ramírez, who leads All-Star voting at his position, missed the final two games of the Guardians' weekend series in Toronto while his third child was born.

The 31-year-old Ramírez is batting .269 with a team-leading 18 homers and 62 RBIs for the Guardians, who have a five-game lead over second-place Kansas City.

To make room for Ramírez, the Guardians optioned rookie first baseman/DH Kyle Manzardo to Triple-A Columbus. Manzardo showed some positive signs in his first stint with Cleveland, but like many young hitters, he struggled with consistency.

Manzardo batted .207 with seven RBIs in 30 games. He struck out 23 times in 82 at-bats.

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said with Manzardo's playing time dwindling — mostly because of Josh Naylor's production — it was important to get him steady at-bats.

“Kyle had some huge hits for us and contributed to a lot of wins,” Vogt said. “We felt Kyle getting down to Columbus and getting consistent playing time every day, playing first base, getting back into a rhythm and into a groove and he’ll be ready whenever we need him again.”

The Guardians remain high on the 23-year-old Manzardo, who was acquired last year at the trade deadline from Tampa Bay for starter Aaron Civale.

“We think Kyle’s a really good first baseman and a very good hitter,” Vogt said. “We know he is going to help us tremendously in the future.”

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