Chase DeLauter didn’t waste any time making his presence felt, and now the Guardians have another reason to think about locking him up.
After just three regular-season games, DeLauter had already flashed the kind of bat that turns heads. His first game of the season wasn’t technically his big league debut, since he had appeared in the postseason the year before, but he still announced himself in a big way with a multi-homer game against the Mariners.
Then he followed that with another homer. And then another.
He didn’t keep that ridiculous home run streak going all season, but he was a steady force in Cleveland’s lineup and that production 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 one thing. The bigger takeaway for Cleveland is what the finalist nod says about DeLauter’s place in the organization.
The Guardians have made a habit in recent years of getting ahead of the market with young players, signing Myles Straw in 2022, Andrés Giménez and Trevor Stephan in 2023 and Tanner Bibee in 2024. Those deals have ranged from shaky to disastrous, but the logic was clear: buy out arbitration years early and do it at a discount.
That thinking matters even more now. Cleveland’s front office has seen how costly arbitration can get, with Steven Kwan, Cade Smith and Jo Adell all serving as reminders. And after DeLauter’s rookie season, it’s hard to imagine any of his three arbitration trips being cheap, assuming the process still exists after the lockout.
There’s risk here, of course. DeLauter has had injury concerns, and he played just 138 games in the minors from 2023 to ‘25. Still, he got into 133 games with the Guardians last season and stayed on the field aside from the injury he suffered when he ran into an outfield wall.
Earlier this offseason, our Michael Smith floated a nine-year, $135 million extension that would pay DeLauter $15 million per season. That kind of deal would be a fit for both sides: long-term security for the player, and a way for the Guardians to keep him without getting buried by yearly costs. It would also come in with a lower AAV than Giménez’s contract.
It would be a gamble, sure. But the alternative is even less appealing: paying DeLauter more and more in arbitration, then watching him walk away for nothing.
With a Silver Slugger finalist nod already on his résumé, this could be the start of a long list of honors. The Guardians have a real chance to make sure those future awards come while he’s still in their uniform.
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Guardians Could Target A White Sox Veteran For A Lineup Need
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For a club that has often had to piece together the edges of its roster, Grichuk offers a straightforward kind of solution: experience, some recent success, and a profile that points toward a short-term deal rather than a long commitment. His age and the way he has performed lately suggest a platoon role would be the most natural landing spot, which is the sort of low-risk addition the Guardians tend to explore when they are trying to sharpen the lineup without overextending. [Read more 🡒]