Jose Ramirez injury gives Tigers window to capitalize, but evidence suggests they won't

The Detroit Tigers just received a gift they desperately needed. And no, it wasn't Sunday's game getting postponed.

With Cleveland Guardians star José Ramírez headed to the injured list after suffering a fractured hamate bone in his left wrist, the balance of power in the AL Central suddenly feels a little less secure. Ramírez is the engine that drives everything the Guardians do offensively, and replacing a future Hall of Famer in the middle of a pennant race is nearly impossible.

For a Tigers team sitting 9.5 games out of first place but welcoming Tarik Skubal back to the rotation, the timing couldn't be better. Unfortunately, though, the Tigers have given little reason to believe they'll actually take advantage of it.

Detroit has spent most of the season teasing relevance without ever fully embracing it. Every time the Tigers string together a few quality wins and start generating momentum, they immediately give it back. Every strong week seems to turn into another stretch of inconsistency.

The frustrating part is that the talent is there. Skubal's return gives Detroit the ace it has desperately missed. Framber Valdez remains capable of carrying a rotation for weeks at a time. Veteran reinforcement Justin Verlander is working his way back, and Casey Mize is returning to the rotation.

On paper, the Tigers have enough pitching to make life difficult for anyone in the division. Unfortunately, the game isn't played on paper.

José Ramírez injury comes at critical time for Tigers in AL Central race, but there's reason for skepticism

The Tigers have repeatedly failed to sustain success regardless of opponent quality. They can beat a contender one night and look completely overmatched against a struggling team the next. Their biggest issue is consistency (or lack thereof).

Meanwhile, Cleveland's schedule isn't suddenly getting easier. The Guardians still have upcoming series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox. They also face Chicago in a pivotal four-game set from July 2-5. If Ramírez misses significant time, there will be opportunities for teams chasing Cleveland to make up ground.

The Tigers could — and should — be one of those teams, but recent history suggests they'll squander at least part of the opportunity. That's what they've done all season. They enter a stretch where they need to stack wins, and they inevitably fall back into the same patterns that created the deficit in the first place.

Ramírez's injury may have cracked the door open in the AL Central race., but whether Detroit can actually walk through it is another question entirely. And based on everything we've seen so far, skepticism remains justified.

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