What Stephen Vogt Had To Say About Chase DeLauter's Injury on Tuesday Night

It was unfortunate to see, but fortunately, Chase DeLauter avoided a long-term injury.

On Tuesday, March 31, the Cleveland Guardians took on the Los Angeles Dodgers for game two of a three-game series out on the West Coast. In the top of the first inning, DeLauter fouled a ball off the back of his left leg, immediately showing signs of discomfort.

He would stay in the outing for the rest of his at-bat, attempting to wiggle out and fight through the pain he was in, but after swinging into a groundout, he could barely even leave the batter's box. After hobbling forward, he turned and immediately limped to the dugout before entering the clubhouse.

After the game concluded, manager Stephen Vogt provided an update on the talented 24-year-old and how his injury was looking.

“Chase is obviously sore, but negative on the X-rays," Vogt said. "So… foot contusion. Tomorrow was a planned off day for Chase anyway. So this will give him two days off. He wasn't gonna be in the lineup tomorrow anyway.”

#Guardians manager Stephen Vogt with a Chase DeLauter injury update:

“Chase is obviously sore, but negative on the x rays. So… foot contusion. Tomorrow was a planned off day for Chase anyway. So this will give him two days off. He wasn't gonna be in lineup tomorrow anyway”…
— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) April 1, 2026

Before Tuesday night, DeLauter had gotten off to an excellent start to his big league career. Through 21 at-bats, he had recorded six hits, four of which were home runs, and helped score five runs. He also tacked on five RBI and drew a singular walk.

He had somewhat cooled off after the first three games of the season, but he was still bringing good, long at-bats to the lineup. Even if he wasn't getting on base, he was testing opposing pitchers and giving the rest of the Guardians' bats a chance to see what would be thrown their direction.

Hearing that DeLauter's injury is just a contusion is a great sign. He will likely be out a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on the severity of the contusion and how the coaching staff wants to approach his recovery.

DeLauter's Unfortunate Injury History

The former 16th overall selection in the 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft out of James Madison University has suffered numerous injuries over the course of his professional baseball career.

In the 2024 campaign, he only played in 39 games, and in 2025, he suited up for just 42. There hasn’t been much consistency in the types of injuries he’s dealt with, as last year saw him undergo surgery due to a sports hernia and surgery on a hamate fracture in his right wrist.

However, even though he's only played a maximum of 57 games in a single season, he's been able to take advantage of the opportunities earned.

Across three total seasons of minor league ball, he's slashed .302/.384/.504 for an OPS of .888. He's also crushed 40 doubles and 20 home runs for nearly 90 RBI. The most impressive part is that he's done all that in just 138 games played.

There's an argument to be made that DeLauter has one of the most talented bats on the Guardians' roster. The only hope now is that they'll be able to get him back on the diamond in just a few days time.

“Thankfully, it seems to be just a contusion; the X-rays came back clean, so I think now we’re just dealing with a nice bone bruise in that area," DeLauter said in a postgame interview. "...“It's just a freak accident. Never had that happen before, where I foul a ball off my back foot. But it can happen, I guess.”