Kwan (wrist) held out of lineup; DeLauter (wrist) working to return

CLEVELAND -- Steven Kwan was out of the Guardians’ starting lineup for Friday’s series opener against the A’s and is considered day to day due to a nagging right wrist issue, manager Stephen Vogt said.

Kwan received an injection during the All-Star break on Wednesday after he was evaluated by team doctors, according to Vogt.

“It’ll be day to day until he’s back ready to play,” Vogt said of Kwan.

Kwan started 92 of the Guardians’ 95 games before the All-Star break, but he has been dealing with the right wrist issue for an extended period. He exited Cleveland’s win over the Dodgers on May 28 due to right wrist inflammation, but was back in the starting lineup the next game following a team off-day on May 29.

Kwan played in the All-Star Game in Atlanta on Tuesday, which the Guardians encouraged him to do while knowing that he would then be evaluated by team doctors on Wednesday. Kwan got his second career nod as a player-elected reserve, and Vogt said Kwan “earned the right to go play in the All-Star Game.”

“The plan was for him to go play in the All-Star Game,” Vogt said, “go see our docs on Wednesday, and then they would come up with [a plan]. We knew the injection could be a possibility. We've been talking about that for the last month, while he's [been] dealing with the wrist.

“So it was just go see the docs on Wednesday, see what they say, and then they did administer the injection.”

Kwan has had another excellent season for Cleveland, but while he has never been known first and foremost for his power, his slugging percentage has fallen since the calendar turned to June. In 56 games through May, he had a .441 slugging percentage. He has slugged .324 in 36 games since June 1.

Kwan overall is slashing .285/.345/.396 in 92 games this season.

DeLauter update

The Guardians are in a bit of a wait-and-see mode on Chase DeLauter (their No. 2 prospect, No. 33 overall, according to MLB Pipeline), who has been dealing with his own wrist issue. DeLauter played through right wrist soreness the past few weeks with Triple-A Columbus, and he had an uptick in symptoms last weekend.

DeLauter did not play Saturday or Sunday, rested during the break and worked out with Columbus on Thursday. He ramped up to play on Friday, but ultimately was not in the Clippers’ starting lineup.

DeLauter did not undergo any imaging during the break. Friday afternoon, Guardians general manager Mike Chernoff said “it’s always a balance” on what to do in a situation such as DeLauter’s.

“He had been playing through the symptoms for the past two weeks,” Chernoff said prior to Cleveland’s series opener against the A’s. “When he had that uptick, we thought it made most sense to give it some rest and see how it goes first, see where he lands coming out of the break. He got through the workout OK [on Thursday] in Columbus, and then we'll see how it goes [Friday] as he ramps up to the game.

“And if it's no pain, then we'll get it worked up more thoroughly. If not and he can play through it, we'd rather have him play through it, obviously.”

DeLauter has generated a lot of buzz this season as a top prospect who has been positioning himself for a possible big league promotion. He has slashed .278/.383/.476 in 34 games with Columbus. His physical status is an important part of the equation.

DeLauter has been limited to 138 career games due to injury setbacks since Cleveland selected him 16th overall in the 2022 MLB Draft. He opened the 2025 season on the IL after he underwent core muscle surgery during Spring Training. DeLauter rejoined Columbus and made his Triple-A season debut on May 26.