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Bryan Ramos has been a major leaguer for less than a week.
But whether or not the White Sox plan for his stay to be a lengthy — or even permanent — one, White Sox fans have made up their minds.
They want to see him at third base. Now and forever.
Though the team’s trade of Robbie Grossman on Wednesday showed why there’s been so much playing time dedicated to veterans who aren’t expected to be here past the end of this season, fans are already itching for this latest South Side rebuild to get a move on. That means more opportunity for young players who actually have a shot at being part of the long-term future and the next contending White Sox team, obviously assuming that doing so doesn’t hinder those players’ developments.
Ramos, ranked among the organization’s top prospects, certainly falls in the category of someone who could make a serious long-term impact. But perhaps not even the most future-ready onlooker was already tabbing Ramos as someone who needed to be at the big league level right now. After all, he was only at Double-A a week ago and not hitting particularly well down there.
Ramos arrived with the White Sox mostly because of roster realities, and his place on the 40-man roster made for an easy promotion when Danny Mendick hit the injured list with a tight back. Yoán Moncada’s extended injury absence, which is expected to last until after the All-Star break, created an unanticipated void at third base in the first place. But since Ramos’ arrival, he’s gotten plenty of playing time, four starts in five games, and he’s taken advantage of the opportunity, with five hits, a walk, a couple RBIs and a couple runs scored.
He’s been impressive.
“When a young player doesn’t get fazed by a major league atmosphere, there’s something there,” Pedro Grifol said Thursday. “But you’ve still got to go out there and prove it. He’s played a handful of games, he’s played extremely well, carrying himself extremely well, he’s confident.
“This is a tough game up here. There’s a lot of learning to be done here. And there’s going to be some mistakes, going to be adjustments. All this stuff is coming our way. But right now, he’s having a lot of fun. He’s not fazed by the big leagues.”
It’s a very small sample size, and a turn in Ramos’ fortunes could see him return to the minors as soon as Mendick gets healthy. But what if the production continues? Could his stay at the big league level last longer? Until Moncada is healthy enough to return?
The White Sox, unsurprisingly, aren’t sharing specific plans, and it’s possible they might not have them. This could be a “let’s see what happens” type approach, with little risk. Either Ramos does well and shows he belongs at the big league level, or he doesn’t and he returns to the minors to continue his development. Either way, the big league team gets a look at someone who could be their third baseman of the future.
“We’ll see,” Grifol said, asked if Ramos would receive the chance to stick in the big leagues. “Some of these (injured players) are far away enough for us to have a larger sample size on where (Ramos is) at. So we’ll see. Obviously, we want talent here. But at the same time, we don’t want to push talent into a new situation where maybe it’s not the time. Right now, he’s good.
“He’s playing well. He’s confident. He’s playing to win. … He’s just doing the little things he needs to play at this level. So we’ll see.”
According to Ramos, the White Sox haven’t communicated much to him about what his immediate future will look like. That’s how he prefers it, really.
“They haven’t told me anything, and I don’t expect anything, either. I just want to keep playing baseball the way I’m playing,” Ramos said. “They know what they’ve got to do. When they’ve got the opportunity to make a decision, they know what’s going to be the best for me.”
Aside from just the fact that five games isn’t a whole lot to go on, it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows for Ramos, who while showing an overall composure has made some less-than-stellar plays in the field. He’s made a couple low throws and nearly collided with Martín Maldonado on Wednesday when he came screaming in from third on a pop up in foul territory.
But those are some nitpicks for a guy getting his first taste of the major leagues.
“I want to keep improving my defense,” Ramos said. “I think I’ve been improving (over) the years, and I want to keep learning in that area — in all of the game — because no matter if you’ve got 10 years in the big leagues or two days, you’re never going to stop learning.”
What’s impressed some more than anything about Ramos’ game is his desire to do baseball’s oft-trumpeted little things. His attempt to simply move a runner over in Wednesday’s game resulted in an RBI single bouncing through the infield. The mentality, more than the result, is what had Grifol in the dugout — and Steve Stone and Ozzie Guillen on TV — beaming.
“I just want to try to get the runner moved. I can’t think like, ‘I want to get a base hit,’ because that doesn’t work,” Ramos said. “Many of the times you think about that, you never get a base hit. You’ve got to do whatever you’ve got to do for the team in that moment, and if (you get) something better, you’ll take it.”
The White Sox will certainly take this sort of impressive showing from someone who could be a key piece of their future. And truly, we’ll have to wait to see if Ramos’ opportunity ends up lasting months or not. While we try to see how the chess pieces might get moved around on the board — some are already calling back to Chris Getz’s surprising offseason comments about Moncada playing first base in an effort to clear a path for Ramos — these things sometimes figure themselves out. Major league pitchers might soon find a way to get Ramos out, and it could become apparent that further minor league seasoning is necessary.
But right now, this glimmer of a youth movement coming to 35th and Shields, this peek at the future in the early days of a long-term rebuilding project is a breath of fresh air for fans, something to feel good about during a 9-28 start.
And Ramos is feeling good, too.
“These few days, for me, have been something special,” he said. “I’ve been feeling good. But I’m not going to say comfortable because this game is way too hard and I’ve got just five games in the big leagues.
“I’m just going to live in the moment and keep playing the same way.”
Let’s see if that’s enough to keep him here.
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