Chase DeLauter’s wrist injury has turned into a real concern for the Cleveland Guardians, and it has now kept him out of the starting lineup again against the Baltimore Orioles.
Tuesday marks the fourth straight game DeLauter has missed from the starting nine after Cleveland pulled him from Friday night’s game with a wrist sprain. The injury happened on a swing during one of his at-bats Friday against the Detroit Tigers, manager Stephen Vogt said Saturday, when the club was still treating it as day-to-day.
Vogt also said DeLauter felt a "weird feeling," and Cleveland opted not to push it.
That’s a notable turn for a player who had been one of the brighter surprises of the 2026 season. DeLauter has stayed on the field better than expected in his rookie year, especially given the injury issues that followed him through the Minor League system. But this latest setback is hitting at a rough time for both player and team.
Through his first full big-league season, DeLauter has been a steady force in the Guardians’ lineup, putting together a .823 OPS with 13 home runs and 60 RBI. For a Cleveland club trying to hang onto the final Wild Card spot in the American League, losing that kind of production even for a few games is no small thing.
There was at least some activity from DeLauter before Monday’s series opener, when he took fly balls in right field and was expected to do some hitting before the game. Even so, he never got into that contest.
The Guardians clearly want to protect his health, and that makes sense. But every game he sits is another game Cleveland goes without one of its most dangerous bats, and the margin in the postseason race keeps shrinking.
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