The Guardians are getting one of their top hitters back after a brief absence, as the team announced that outfielder Chase DeLauter is being activated off the injured list. DeLauter is batting third today and serving as the designated hitter. Fellow outfielder Petey Halpin is being optioned to Triple-A Columbus in a corresponding move.
DeLauter landed on the IL on June 17th with a small fracture in his ribcage, which he sustained while crashing into the outfield wall on a fly ball from Gleyber Torres a few days prior. Initially, it wasn’t clear how long DeLauter would be out, but he proved to recover quickly from the injury. DeLauter resumed baseball activities on June 22nd and now returns just two weeks after suffering the injury.
The 24-year-old DeLauter entered the season as one of Cleveland’s top prospects as well as a Top-100 prospect in the league, according to MLB.com’s official ranking. DeLauter made the club out of camp and more than held his own in his first taste of big league action. In 270 plate appearances, he is batting .263/.337/.408 with a 110 wRC+. As a prospect, DeLauter was noted for his ability to hit for average while showing good power and plate discipline. He’s lived up to that reputation so far, walking at an above-average 10.4% rate and hitting seven home runs while striking out just 13.3% of the time.
DeLauter’s return is a major boost for a Cleveland offense that has mostly struggled in 2026. The Guardians’ 90 wRC+ is tied with the Mets and Reds for second-worst in the Majors. José Ramírez hit below his usual standards in April and May, then found his footing in June before going on the IL with a left hamate fracture. Brayan Rocchio and Kyle Manzardo are slightly above average, while Steven Kwan has struggled mightily to the tune of a 70 wRC+. Apart from that group, six other Guardians hitters have taken between 120 and 250 plate appearances. All but Travis Bazzana have been below average at the plate.
Struggles on offense aren’t exactly new for Cleveland, as the team usually excels on the strength of their pitching staff. Nonetheless, they’ll need to improve on the hitting side to boost their chances of making the playoffs, let alone making a deep run. The team has a 43-40 record, which is hardly dominating, and they’re two games back of the White Sox in the loss column. FanGraphs gives Cleveland a 56.2% chance of reaching the postseason, but those odds are more about the underwhelming state of the American League than any postseason worthiness on the Guardians’ part. The rotation and bullpen are both above-average units by fWAR, but the team’s inability to hit leaves them with a -9 run differential. A healthy DeLauter will mitigate that to an extent, but further upgrades are needed at the deadline.
With DeLauter’s return, Halpin goes down to the minors. A third-round draft pick by Cleveland in 2020, Halpin was most recently recalled to the Majors on June 16th. In 25 plate appearances since then, he recorded just four hits while striking out eight times. Between that and his previous big league stint in May, Halpin is batting .170/.185/.226 with a 28.6% strikeout rate in 56 plate appearances. He figures to stick at Triple-A barring another injury.
Photo courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images
