The Guardians positioned American League batting chief Steven Kwan on the injured listing this afternoon. Testing revealed the underrated left fielder suffered an “acute” pressure of his left hamstring, tweets Zack Meisel of the Athletic. Kwan is predicted to be sidelined for a couple of month.
It’s powerful information given Kwan’s scorching begin to the season. The left-handed hitter has turned in a .353/.407/.496 batting line over 145 plate appearances. Kwan has walked as typically as he’s gone down on strikes (11 occasions apiece). It appeared to be a large rebound after he had a league common .268/.340/.370 slash in his second massive league marketing campaign. Paired together with his characteristically elite left area protection, Kwan has been one of many sport’s most beneficial gamers by means of six weeks.
The silver lining is that Cleveland has a high-upside substitute moving into the lineup. The Guards promoted prime prospect Kyle Manzardo because the corresponding transfer for Kwan’s IL placement. Manzardo ought to get on a regular basis run at designated hitter after hitting .303/.375/.642 to begin the season at Triple-A Columbus. Estevan Florial, who has been Cleveland’s main DH, ought to see nearly all of the left area work in Kwan’s absence. That was the association Stephen Vogt ran on this night’s 2-1 win over the Tigers. (Manzardo struck out in his first three massive league at-bats.)
Cleveland’s outfield accidents aren’t unique to the key league stage. Prime prospect Chase DeLauter has been identified with a fractured fifth metatarsal in his left foot, the staff introduced over the weekend (hyperlink through Mandy Bell of MLB.com). The 22-year-old goes to see a specialist to weigh his therapy choices.
That is sadly not unfamiliar territory for DeLauter, whom the Guardians chosen sixteenth total two years in the past.. He additionally suffered a fracture in that foot over the 2022-23 offseason. That required surgical procedure and prevented him from making his season debut till early June. DeLauter tore by means of Excessive-A pitching when he returned, hitting .366/.403/.549 in 42 video games. He earned a late-season bump to Double-A and was broadly considered a Prime 50 minor league expertise going into this 12 months.
DeLauter continued to rake in Spring Coaching, connecting on 4 homers whereas hitting .520 in 13 exhibition video games. That didn’t carry over into his first few weeks at Double-A Akron, as he was off to a .197/.296/.295 begin over 71 plate appearances. That’s a small pattern in a chilly early-season setting, so it seemingly wasn’t of a lot concern to the group. The potential for one more prolonged harm absence — notably with a second foot harm — is extra worrisome, although it stays to be seen if he’ll be capable to rehab with out surgical procedure this time round.
