Cleveland Guardians' David Fry admits that he may have formed some "bad habits" at the plate during his injury rehab.
David Fry was a major reason why the Cleveland Guardians came three wins away from a World Series appearance in 2024, but his 2025 started and ended with injury rehab. There were some encouraging moments in between, but overall, Fry didn’t look like the All-Star hitter and versatile player he was two years ago.
As the Guardians get ready to officially open up training camp for position players, Fry is confident with where he’s at and ready to go for spring training and then the season.
Most importantly, after 14 months of rehab, Fry said he’ll be full-go for spring training and is no longer in the recovery process of the elbow surgery or facial injury he suffered after taking a fastball off the chest from Tarik Skubal.
“I’m feeling great. As of like last week, cleared to like have normal workout, hit, throw, do everything,” explained Fry on a recent episode of the Guardians Podcast. “Definitely a god-thing that it wasn't anything more serious, and I just had to miss a few weeks and kind of back and getting ready for this next season.”
Jul 20, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians designated hitter David Fry (6) hits an RBI double during the fourth inning against the Athletics at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn ImagesEven though it was Fry’s throwing arm, which he had surgery on last offseason, he never got back to the elite hitter he was in 2024. The right-hander logged a .592 OPS with a strikeout rate of 36.9 percent a season ago.
Fry admitted that during the season, some bad tendencies may have crept into his swing as he was still recovering from elbow surgery.
“I've started hitting some, and just kind of looking back, I think during the rehab process, maybe gotten some bad habits. I don't know if it was me trying to baby it with my elbow or if it was just hitting and you don't really realize it and you get into some bad habits. Then all of a sudden it's, go face, Rodon, Skubal, and Fried. It's like, alright, gotta be ready to go and you're kind of playing catch-up.” explained Fry.
Health is the most important thing for Fry heading into the season. The Guardians know the type of impact he can have in the lineup and in the field when he’s at 100 percent, and it sounds like Fry is in a good spot from that standpoint heading into the year.
“I feel really good about where we're at. I've been in contact with, uh, Fank, our hitting coach and, um, he's had a lot of good stuff for me and feels super confident in where we're at and kind of getting ready for the season.”
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