The Cleveland Guardians are in a bad spot right now. They lost the AL Central lead. Their best hitter is out for over a month. And the lineup has scored exactly one run in two of their last three games. But there’s at least one piece of good news headed their way.
Outfielder Chase DeLauter is close to returning from a right rib cage fracture. According to MLB.com, the team is hoping to have him back during the upcoming homestand that starts Friday against the Seattle Mariners. That’s sooner than some expected, given the initial injury timeline.
DeLauter isn’t going to single-handedly fix everything. No one player can replace Jose Ramirez, who’s expected to miss five to seven weeks with a left hamate fracture. And Angel Martinez is also out for at least a month with a foot fracture. But the 24-year-old DeLauter should at least give the offense another body who can actually produce.
His numbers this season aren’t flashy, but they’re solid for a guy still finding his footing. Through 66 games, DeLauter has a .263/.337/.408 slash line with seven home runs and 12 doubles. That’s not All-Star production, but it beats what the Guardians have been running out there lately. The team’s lineup has looked lifeless against Chicago, and they need innings where the ball actually finds grass.
When Could DeLauter Actually Play?
Nothing is official yet. The Guardians play their final game against the White Sox in Chicago on Wednesday before heading home. If DeLauter gets cleared, he could be activated during that Mariners series. The team has been vague on exact dates, but the general vibe is late June or early July if everything goes well.
That would be a big lift for a club that’s suddenly looking up at the rest of the division. Cleveland plays Wednesday at 2:10 PM EST and needs a win to pull back within striking distance of first place.
DeLauter’s return won’t fix the gap Ramirez left behind. Nobody expects that. But right now, the Guardians will take any kind of production they can get. The offense has been that bad. And with the AL Central race tightening up, every run matters.
More updates on DeLauter’s recovery will come as the team makes them available. For now, the Guardians just need to get through this week without falling any further behind.
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