What can we expect from these injured Guardians next year? 

While the Cleveland Guardians have been able to avoid any injuries this year to the key guys in their lineup, they’ve still had plenty of players impacted by injuries this year, ranging from impact major leaguers to minor leaguers looking to crack in the majors for the first time in their career. 

With that in mind, here’s a look at how six injured Guardians could end up helping the team next season. 

Note: While Lane Thomas and John Means are hurt, they could both be free agents after the season which is why they were omitted from this list.

What can we expect from these injured Guardians next year? 

OF Will Brennan

Brennan’s 2025 season was one of starts and stops. The Guardians initially told him he had a spot on the Opening Day roster before becoming the odd man out at the eleventh hour when they traded for Nolan Jones. 

He ended up playing in 35 games at Triple-A (where he hit .305) before being recalled on May 12. He wasn’t able to build on that momentum in the bigs, however, as he played in just six games with the Guardians before having some right forearm inflammation pop up that resulted in him undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery.

Brennan is about two months away from beginning a throwing program, and he'll be able to start hitting not long after that. He’s been rehabbing at the team’s complex in Arizona alongside Sam Hentges, Ben Lively and Andrew Walters. 

Even if the beginning of Brennan’s season wasn’t great (he went 1-for-11), he likely would have earned plenty of run on the Guardians this year given the team’s struggles to get any kind of production from an outfielder not named Steven Kwan. 

When he’s at this best, Brennan is slapping the ball all over the field while playing above-average defense in the outfield While he may not be able to do that right away as he recovers from his injury, Bryce Harper, Shohei Ohtani and David Fry have shown you can still be a successful hitter even while recovering from Tommy John. 

INF Juan Brito

Brito, who is the Guardians’ highest-ranked MLB ready middle infield prospect, has also had a season that’s been lost to injury. After coming close to making the team’s Opening Day roster during the spring, Brito suffered a thumb injury in April before suffering a hamstring strain in July that’s had him on the shelf since. 

This year was supposed to be the year where Brito finally gets a chance to make his mark on the Guardians, but instead it’s been a frustrating foray filled with time spent away from the diamond.

He hit .256 in 24 games at Triple-A this year, and will now have an uphill climb to make the team’s Opening Day roster next year, so long as they don’t trade Brayan Rocchio or Gabriel Arias.

OF Chase DeLauter

DeLauter likely would have made his major league debut already this season had he not gotten injured earlier this year at Triple-A Columbus. Injuries have become the theme of DeLauter’s career at this point and he’s running out of time to be able to return this year from the right hamate fracture that’s currently keeping him on the shelf. 

But even if his chances of helping the Guardians this year are running out, he should get a chance to break camp with them next year, so long as he stays healthy in the spring. He’s hit at every level he’s played at, but he hasn’t been able to stay on the field long enough to earn a major league shot. 

If DeLauter can stay healthy next year (and that’s a big if), we should see him with the Guardians next season. 

LHP Sam Hentges 

You’re forgiven if you’ve forgotten about Hentges in regard to the Guardians’ bullpen picture given how long it’s been since we saw him on the mound. Hentges hasn’t appeared in a big league game for the Guardians since last July, and won’t appear in one for them this year after undergoing Tommy John surgery last September. 

He should return to the mound sometime in September, which will at least give him a bit of normalcy as he enters the offseason. Hentges is a valuable left-handed weapon in the Guardians’ bullpen, and it can’t be overstated how much his injury has set back the Guardians’ bullpen. 

If everything goes well in his recovery, he should be back in the Guardians’ bullpen next season. 

RHP Ben Lively

Lively has been one of the best stories in recent memory for the Guardians, as he went from unheralded signing to rotation staple over the past 1 1/2 seasons. 

But Lively’s journey with the Guardians hit a huge speed bump earlier this year when he underwent Tommy John surgery in June after feeling tightness in his forearm the month before. He’s expected to be out 12-16 months, so his debut next season won’t come toward the end of the month, if at all. 

He’s going to be eligible for arbitration for the first time in his career next season, and he’ll probably sign a one-year deal worth a shade over $1 million like Hentges did last offseason. 

RHP Andrew Walters 

Walters broke onto the scene last year with 8 2/3 innings in September, which helped him earn a spot on the Guardians’ postseason roster. He missed the start of the season with right shoulder stiffness and appeared in two games this year with the Guardians before suffering a right lat injury that eventually required surgery. 

He underwent surgery to repair his lat tendon on June 9, and he’s expected to miss eight-to-10 months, which puts his return right in the middle of spring training. 

The Guardians are going to have to repurpose their bullpen in the offseason thanks to Emmanuel Clase’s suspension, and they’re planning on having Walters be a big part of that.