3 Guardians who could be called up after David Fry's injury 

Change is afoot on the Guardians’ roster. 

After spending most of the season mostly having the same players on the roster, they had to shake things up last week when Nolan Jones hit the injured list with an oblique strain. 

They’ll likely have to make another change later today after David Fry got hit in the face by a Tarik Skubal fastball yesterday. Fry was conscious the entire time and appeared attentive when he was carted off the field, but it’s hard to imagine he won’t need a stint on the injured list. 

While Fry was hampering the Guardians’ positional versatility due to his ability to just be designated hitter, he’s a dangerous right-handed bat who already has some postseason heroics under his belt. 

Even if he was only hitting .229, his absence will hurt. 

And if Fry does end up having an extended absence, here are three players who could take his spot on the roster with less than a week left in the regular season. 

These three Guardians could provide depth for the final week

OF Johnathan Rodríguez

Rodríguez has played in 28 games with the Guardians, but the results weren’t very pretty. Though he slugged his first career home run, he hit just .167 and provided some subpar defense in right field. 

Those two factors are likely the biggest things going against him. The Guardians currently have six players on their roster in right field, and they’re all arguably better and/or more intriguing than Rodríguez. 

OF Kahlil Watson

Watson seems to be finally finding his footing after the Guardians acquired him from the Marlins at the trade deadline in 2023. 

He slashed .250/.346/.467 with 16 home runs and 61 RBI across 102 games in Double-A and Triple-A while also transitioning to becoming a full-time outfielder.  

The Guardians will need to add him to the 40-man roster in the offseason to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft, so adding him to the roster this week would allow for them to get a jump on that while also giving him a taste of what a postseason race is like.

The 22-year-old is not on the Guardians’ 40-man roster, but they’d be able to easily add him to the roster thanks to their open roster spot. 

INF Will Wilson

Wilson has been the first guy up every time there’s been an injury to a Guardians infielder, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he was brought in to be Fry’s replacement. He’s a right-handed platoon bat like Fry (albeit with less pop) and he can also play all over the infield. 

Wilson ended up hitting .192 in 34 games this year with the Guardians and isn’t the kind of player that you’d want hitting with the game on the line, but he’s an okay option to fill Fry’s roster spot in a pinch.