Chase DeLauter didn’t waste any time making his presence felt in Cleveland. In just three regular-season games, he announced himself with a multi-homer game against the Mariners, then followed that up with another homer, and then another. The pace was outrageous, even if it couldn’t last all season.
What did last was the production. DeLauter settled in as a steady part of the Guardians’ lineup and that work earned him a spot as a Louisville Silver Slugger finalist in the outfield. He’s up against Wilyer Abreu, Randy Arozarena, Cody Bellinger, Jac Caglianone, Riley Greene, Tristan Peters, Chandler Simpson and Mike Trout.
The award itself is still up for debate, but the bigger takeaway for Cleveland is harder to miss: this is the kind of season that should push the Guardians toward an extension.
The organization has already shown it’s willing to move early with young talent. In recent years, the Guardians signed Myles Straw in 2022, Andrés Giménez and Trevor Stephan in 2023, and Tanner Bibee in 2024. Those deals ranged from meh to outright disasters, but they did let Cleveland get ahead of the usual contract timeline and buy out arbitration years at a discount.
That matters now because arbitration is getting expensive. The front office is watching that play out with Steven Kwan, Cade Smith and Jo Adell, and DeLauter’s rookie season suggests his three trips through the process won’t come cheap, assuming the system is still around after the lockout.
There’s risk here, of course. DeLauter has injury questions attached to him after playing just 138 games in the minors from 2023 to ‘25. But he also played in 133 games with the Guardians last season and stayed on the field aside from the injury he suffered while running into an outfield wall.
Uh, yeah. Welcome back, Chase DeLauter. #GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/hfJEyXx3WF
- Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 9, 2026
Earlier this offseason, Michael Smith floated a nine-year, $135 million extension that would pay DeLauter $15 million per season. That kind of deal would be unusual for Cleveland, but it would give the club long-term control without having to stack up huge annual salaries. It would also carry a lower AAV than Giménez’s deal.
The alternative is uglier: pay more in arbitration and risk losing him for nothing. DeLauter’s Silver Slugger finalist nod may be the first of many, and the Guardians have a chance to make sure those honors come while he’s still in their uniform.
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