Pedro Ramirez did his job.
The 22-year-old rookie was thrust into everyday duty on the Cubs’ infield when shortstop Dansby Swanson went down with an oblique injury a month ago.
Swanson is due back Friday, returning Ramirez to his reserve role with the Cubs fighting to secure a wild-card spot.
But Ramirez, as inexperienced as he was coming into the season, doesn’t appear to have been “thrust” into anything.
“Some people have a presence — I’ve called it ‘an old soul,’ at times — where you’re just comfortable with him immediately,” manager Craig Counsell said of Ramirez this week. “It’s not flashy, in any way, but you’re comfortable with him. He’s the kind of person that makes you trust him quickly.
“He’s also a talented baseball player. But you throw on that other stuff, and it’s a big reason why he’s a Major League Baseball player at such a young age. That’s how he carries himself.”
As important as Swanson is, particularly on defense, there didn’t seem to be much fretting when he went down. The Cubs had Gold Glove second baseman Nico Hoerner, who slid over to his former stomping grounds at shortstop.
But they also had Ramirez.
“Pedro is the kind of player, from early on in spring training, he impressed everyone with his demeanor,” Hoerner said Wednesday. “He’s a guy we all enjoy being around. He’s fun, has a good time with it, but he’s also very serious about his career. He’s got big aspirations for being a great player in this league.
“It could be a hard thing, learning to play at the big league level in the middle of a playoff chase and all that, and he’s balanced that really well.”
Like any player, Ramirez has gone through his ups and downs.
Though he homered off reigning Cy Young winner Paul Skenes on the most recent home stand, he’s in the middle of a slump, hitting .143 in his last 14 games, a stretch that’s dropped his OPS from .801 to .733. His OPS-plus of 100 makes his season output exactly league average.
But you wouldn’t know it the way the Cubs continue to rave about him.
“It’s impressive, because he’s the kind of player, he can pretty much do everything on the field,” Hoerner said. “He’s got real power that I think is going to show up even more so as he continues to play.
“It’s a really great sign that he can both be present and competing every day and helping us win while also continuing to develop and find the best version of himself.”
Regardless of recent numbers, that Ramirez, getting his first taste of the majors, has made himself a factor for a veteran team chasing a championship is no small thing.
During Swanson’s absence, Ramirez received regular playing time, something he wasn’t doing before, when he made an impact as a part-timer. This could go down as a valuable stretch.
“What any young player wants is consistent playing time. It’s the hardest thing to get, and you have to earn it,” Counsell said. “We’ve also gotten Pedro a number of at-bats that he can truly reflect on and improve on, too, a big enough sample where it’s fair to say, “What do we need to get better at?’
“Major league hitting, you just need the experience, you need the at-bats, you need to see the different pitch shapes, you need to see the greatness of some of these guys, the challenges: ‘How do they exploit you? What holes are they uncovering?’ And you can’t do that without consistent at-bats.
“Pedro’s gotten them.”
With Hoerner, Swanson and third baseman Alex Bregman are entrenched on the infield, what will Ramirez’s future role be?
Might he end up in the outfield? He has little experience, playing one inning in left field this season, with minimal time in the minors. But the Cubs could have holes to fill, with both left fielder Ian Happ and right fielder Seiya Suzuki slated to hit free agency.
But that’s to figure out later. Right now, it’s about what sort of contributions Ramirez can make to a team chasing a playoff spot — and a whole lot more — in September and October.
Not a bad opportunity for the 22-year-old with an old soul.