OFFICIAL: Cleveland Guardians add Chase DeLauter to postseason roster

The Cleveland Guardians’ second-ranked prospect has made the team’s 2025 MLB Playoff roster.

Chase DeLauter was spotted in Cleveland on Monday as he was added to the team’s taxi squad and was rumored to be in consideration for the Guardians’ playoff roster.

Now, it’s been confirmed that DeLauter has made the team and will be eligible to make his professional debut with the Guardians during the MLB postseason.

DeLauter is the No. 54 prospect in baseball. The 23 year-old right fielder is known for his power, and would have likely debuted with the Guardians this season but was sidelined in AAA Columbus after undergoing surgery for a broken bone in his right hand in July.

The Guardians overcame a 15.5 game deficit to win the American League Central division. It’s a historic comeback that has never been done before. They’ll face the Detroit Tigers, the same team that choked away the division, in the Wild Card round.

Much has been said about the lack of starpower in Cleveland’s lineup. The Guardians have the lowest team batting average for a postseason team in MLB history at .226. They’re the only team in the MLB Playoffs with a negative run differential.

While DeLauter has never seen major league pitching – especially not Tarik Skubal, who is starting Game 1 for the Tigers – manager Stephen Vogt has pressed all the right buttons through the second half of the season. The threat of having DeLauter on the bench for a pinch hit situation will provide Cleveland with a weapon that the Tigers have not seen despite these teams playing three series over the last two weeks.

The Tigers just had a historic collapse. They were lucky to even make the MLB postseason. Now, they have another unknown Guardians player that they have to worry about.

During the regular season, Guardians fans were beyond critical of the front office for refusing to elevate DeLauter despite his 37 game on-base streak. Cleveland’s offense sputtered as playoff hopes dwindled, while DeLauter continued to shine in Columbus.

But now, the Guardians were able to pull off the unthinkable and that could change how they view one of their top prospects. DeLauter hasn’t played in over two months but the Guardians believe that his bat could help the team compete to keep their dream season alive.

While DeLauter is unlikely to be in the starting lineup for the Guardians, he will be eligible to come off the bench and make his MLB debut as the Guardians host the Tigers at 1:08 p.m on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday if necessary.