ESPN shines new light on Guardians’ outfield struggles

With the end of the year here, nearly every major outlet is doing some kind of story that takes a look at how 2025 went in MLB and how 2026 could go (we’re no exception). 

One of those stories came from ESPN’s David Schoenfield, who published a story on Tuesday that highlighted one stat from all 15 American League teams that could end up dictating how things go for each club in 2026. 

Unsurprisingly, the Guardians stat relates to the outfield, as Schoenfield highlighted the fact that Cleveland’s outfielders combined for an OPS of .629, which was the worst mark in baseball. 

“Their inability to fix center and right field is reflected in giving Nolan Jones, reacquired from the Colorado Rockies ahead of the 2025 season in March, the second-most starts in center and the most in right, even though he hit just .211/.296/.304 with five home runs in 355 at-bats,” he wrote. 

Even though Cleveland’s outfield should be better in 2026 thanks to the presence of Chase DeLauter and George Valera, Schoenfield bringing more attention to Cleveland’s outfield ineptitude makes the fact they haven’t added a bonafide MLB option to the outfield even more frustrating. 

The Guardians’ current outfield picture is a bit underwhelming 

This is the second time that a national outlet brought more attention to the black hole on the grass at Progressive Field, as MLB Trade Rumors published a story earlier this week about how Cleveland had done little to upgrade right field after Guardians right fielders combined for -1.9 bWAR in 2025. 

But even with that lack of upgrades, Schoenfield was bullish on the Guardians’ chances in 2026 thanks to the presence of DeLauter, who slashed .278/.383/.476 in 34 games at Triple-A before making his MLB debut in the postseason. 

The biggest problem with that plan, however, is DeLauter’s checkered injury history. He has yet to play more than 57 games in a season, and missed time in 2025 due to a core muscle injury and right hamate fracture. 

Valera was able to stay healthy in 2025, but his career was upended in the minor leagues so much that the Guardians designated him for assignment last offseason to remove him from the 40-man roster. 

Schoenfield also took a macro look at the future of the Guardians’ outfield by bringing up Jace LaViolette, who was Cleveland’s first round pick last summer.

While he didn’t make his organizational debut for the Guardians last year due to a hand injury, he’s known more for his power than his bat-on-ball skills, which could symbolize a philosophy shift in how the Guardians are looking to build their outfield. 

But, no matter what the Guardians are looking to do in their outfield in the long-term, there’s no denying the present is a bit underwhelming.