Guardians Get Terrible Injury News on Two Top Prospects

The Cleveland Guardians are looking to repeat as division winners in 2023 after finishing 2022 with a convincing 11-game lead in the AL Central.

With few other teams in the division making significant improvements, the Guardians are once again in the driver's seat. However they are a franchise that is usually built upon their farm system, and on Monday they got some tough injury updates regarding two of their top prospects.

Top pitching prospect Daniel Espino is being shut down for at least two months after suffering a strain in his shoulder. Meanwhile, 2022 first-round pick Chase Delauter will miss the majority of this season with a foot fracture.

Guardians Injury News

Espino spent last year in Double-A and pitched to a 2.45 ERA, but only appeared in four games and logged a total of 18 1/3 innings. This was a year where he hoped to take another step forward in his development, but that will have to be put on hold for now.

Delauter was set to start his pro career in 2023, after hitting .437 last season at James Madison University. His injury is more serious and thus will have him sidelined until mid-summer at best.

It's not that either player anticipated being a significant contributor on the MLB roster this season, but their timelines for when that will happen could now be pushed back.

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