The Cleveland Guardians took Chase DeLauter out of Wednesday's lineup for precautionary reasons.
Chase DeLauter has the potential to be a superstar-caliber player and even the best hitter in the Cleveland Guardians’ lineup one day. However, injuries have continued to set the 2022 first-round pick back and delayed his impact on the big-league team.
He would’ve debuted before the playoffs in 2025 if it weren’t for an injury, and the same story can probably be said for the 2024 season, too.
That’s why fear crept in on Wednesday, when DeLauter was originally in Cleveland’s spring training lineup against the Texas Rangers, but he ended up being scratched under an hour before first pitch.
Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reported that DeLauter was experiencing lower-body soreness after partaking in heavy on-field activity from earlier in camp. The decision to pull him from the lineup was strictly precautionary, but you can’t blame someone for being a little worried about it, considering DeLauter's injury history.
Cleveland Guardians center fielder Chase DeLauter (34) jogs back to the dugout during the first inning of Game 2 of the American League wild card series at Progressive Field, Oct. 1, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio.Since DeLauter was selected in 2022, he’s only played in 138 Minor League games due to a variety of injuresi including toe, foot, wrist, and a sports hernia. That said, there’s no question about the type of impact he can make when he’s on the diamond. In those limited Minor League games, DeLauter owns a career .888 OPS with 40 doubles and 20 home runs.
At this point, the Guardians should be hoping this isn’t an injury that won’t cause him to miss much time. The success of Cleveland’s whole offseason plan of not signing free agents or making trades to not block the young core depends on those players actually getting playing time.
DeLauter, up to this point, has had a very encouraging start to spring training, too. In six at-bats, the left-hander owns three hits (.500), including a double.
DeLauter is in line to have a massive role with the Guardians in 2026 and could be the key to Cleveland’s lineup turning a new leaf as a whole.
It’s understandable the team wants to be cautious with arguba;y the most important player heading into the year. However, it’s fair to be slightly worried about how serious the injury actually is, given his history of missing time.
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