5 injured Guardians who could make a big impact in 2026

While the Cleveland Guardians haven’t had any superstars on their roster suffer from any major injuries, injuries have still impacted some important players in their organization. And although we’re running out of time for those injured players to help the Guardians’ quest to make this year’s postseason, they still have a chance to make an impact in 2026. 

These five injured Guardians should help the Guardians in 2026 

Travis Bazzana

While Bazzana hasn’t made his major league debut for the Guardians yet, he’s knocking on the door at Triple-A and was in the midst of a hot streak with the Clippers before he went on the shelf with left flank soreness. He slashed .225/.420/.438 in 26 games with the Clippers. 

While the Guardians have plenty of middle infielders on their 26-man roster right now, it seems like this could be an offseason where they elect to do some reshuffling and deal away one or two guys to clear out the logjam. 

Brayan Rocchio is proving that he can be an everyday second baseman, while Gabriel Arias has looked the part on defense at shortstop but not in the batter’s box. 

Don’t let the current roster fool you; there’s a path for Bazzana to make an impact for the Guardians this year. 

Will Brennan

All year the Guardians have cycled through options in right field to try to find someone who could fill the black hole they had there.  Had Brennan not gotten hurt earlier this year, that may not have been necessary. 

Yes, he only went 1-for-11 in his brief cameo with the Guardians this year, but his season was also doomed from the start. After initially being told that he had made the team, the front office had to reverse course and tell him he was going to Triple-A after they acquired Nolan Jones from the Rockies. 

Brennan only appeared in six games at the big league level this year before undergoing Tommy John surgery, and he recently had sports hernia surgery due to a nagging groin issue, though it isn’t expected to impact his ability to return for spring training next year. 

When Brennan’s healthy and at his best, he’s slapping the ball all over the field while providing above-average defense in either right field or center field. He’s due for arbitration for the first time in his career, but his lost 2025 will likely put a damper on the amount he’s going to be worth. 

The Guardians will probably bring in some outside help to address their problem in right field, but the top option may be right under their noses. 

Chase DeLauter 

Another top prospect who got hurt at Triple-A, DeLauter was gaining some buzz as a call-up candidate before he suffered a right hamate fracture that appears to have ended his summer season. 

That said, he’s going to head to Arizona to play in the Fall League for a third straight year, which is a bit unheard of. 

DeLauter hit.278 in 34 games at Triple-A before suffering the injury, and he still hasn’t played in more than 57 games in a single minor league season due to a variety of injuries. 

He has the kind of power the Guardians need in their lineup (and struggle to develop), but injuries have been a huge roadblock in his development toward being able to make it to the bigs. If he can stay healthy during spring training, he has a shot to break camp with the Guardians. 

Sam Hentges

It’s okay if you forgot about Hentges considering he hasn’t thrown a pitch at any affiliated level in more than a year. He suffered an arm injury last summer that resulted in him undergoing Tommy John surgery in September. 

Hentges is expected to get back on a mound sometime in the next 1-3 months, so he should have a (relatively) normal offseason after rehabbing all of this season.

Hentges has a 3.26 ERA in 165 2/3 innings as a reliever, and, when he’s at his best, can be a shutdown lefty option. 

The Guardians avoided arbitration with Hentges with a one-year, $1,377,500 contract despite knowing that he was going to miss all of this year while recovering from surgery. He’ll likely make that again this year, which is a worthwhile investment given how good he’s been when he’s been healthy. 

Andrew Walters 

The Guardians had big plans for Walters this year but he got a late start to the season due to spring training shoulder soreness before he suffered a season-ending lat injury in his second appearance of the year. 

Walters threw 8 2/3 scoreless innings last September which helped him make the Guardians’ postseason roster. 

The Guardians have gotten a ton of production this year from young arms like Nic Enright and Eric Sabrowski, but Walters is arguably just as good as any of them. 

He should be a mainstay in the bullpen next year so long as he doesn’t have any setbacks in the offseason.