Guardians rookie outfielder Chase DeLauter is playing through a small fracture and bone bruise in his right rib, manager Stephen Vogt told reporters (including Zach Sweet of MLB.com). DeLauter was unavailable for tonight’s game, a 2-1 loss in Milwaukee. Vogt said he remains day to day but didn’t rule out the possibility it’d require an injured list stint.
DeLauter suffered the injury on Saturday in what was an almost unbelievably brutal day for Cleveland from a health perspective. DeLauter was injured in the top of the first when he crashed into a wall tracking a Gleyber Torres fly ball. Angel Martínez fouled a ball off his left foot in the bottom half; he suffered a non-displaced fracture and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks, Vogt said.
The worst injury of all came in the fifth, when José Ramírez sustained a hamate fracture on a pop-up. Ramírez underwent the standard hamate repair surgery on Tuesday afternoon. He’ll be out for more than a month. That’s three of Cleveland’s everyday players, at least two of whom are down for an extended period.
Gabriel Arias, who had been out since mid-April with a significant hamstring strain, was at third base in Ramírez place tonight. David Fry and Stuart Fairchild each drew into the outfield with Milwaukee sending left-hander Robert Gasser to the hill. Daniel Schneemann and Petey Halpin are likely to get more playing time against righty pitching, especially if DeLauter requires an injured list stint.
Cleveland’s outfield was a problem even before the injuries. Martínez has big physical tools but a streaky offensive profile given his aggressive plate approach. DeLauter has cooled significantly after a huge start to his MLB regular season career. He has only homered twice since popping five longballs within the first seven games of the season. He’s a .252/.333/.346 hitter in nearly 250 plate appearances since that stellar opening week. Schneemann’s bat has cratered since the end of April, while Steven Kwan has struggled offensively for an entire calendar year.
That all made it somewhat surprising that the Guardians designated George Valera for assignment over the weekend. They evidently soured on him despite a decent offensive season in Triple-A. CJ Kayfus hasn’t hit for any power in the minors, while Halpin has a middling on-base mark. Kahlil Watson has gotten strong results in Triple-A but is striking out at a 28% clip.
Cleveland sits percentage points behind the White Sox for the AL Central lead. The outfield and left-handed relief — already a question mark before they lost Erik Sabrowski to elbow inflammation — seem the biggest areas of need as the front office prepares for the trade deadline.
