The Cleveland Guardians just lost one-third of their lineup in Angel Martinez, Chase DeLauter, and Jose Ramirez. They are all fractured, and they will all miss multiple weeks.
As one might expect, scoring runs has become more challenging for the squad, as the offense wasn’t particularly productive even before the injuries. They have some depth and a solid pitching staff, though, so they have a chance to survive and remain highly competitive by the time the aforementioned trio returns.
Big problems require creative solutions, though, and the Guardians need to think outside the box to try to replicate the lost production. One of them could very well be calling up Cooper Ingle from Triple-A Columbus.
After his explosive start to the season in Triple-A, when his wRC+ was above 200, the catching prospect had actually cooled off a bit. However, on Thursday, he had one of the best games of his career.
“COOPER INGLE! THREE HOME RUNS. He is currently 4-for-4 with 3 homers, a double, and 4 RBI for the Columbus Clippers today,” GuardsInsider said.
COOPER INGLE! THREE HOME RUNS 🔥
He is currently 4-for-4 with 3 homers, a double and 4 RBI for the @CLBClippers today 🤯 pic.twitter.com/CN6djuxzkF
— GuardsInsider (@GuardsInsider) June 18, 2026
It was an outstanding power-hitting showing from the young slugger, who is currently trying to learn the outfield to accelerate his potential call-up to Cleveland. If he keeps hitting like this, you can be sure he will be up in a matter of days, not weeks.
Ingle is slashing a cool .304/.436/.590 with 12 home runs and a 1.026 OPS after the amazing day at the dish. He also has eight doubles and has almost as many walks, 38, as strikeouts, 45.
The Guardians, needing an injection of talent on offense so badly, are wasting time every day that Ingle isn’t on the roster at this point. They probably want him to learn the outfield first so he doesn’t become a liability back there, but the bat is evidently MLB-ready.
It’s important to say, additionally, that Ingle’s success isn’t exclusively a 2026 thing. Prior to this season, he had never posted an OPS under .800 in any minor league season. He just took it up a notch and is now flirting with the 1.000 mark.
If the Guardians want their offense to remain competitive while Ramirez, Martinez, and DeLauter are injured, calling up Ingle would be a good idea.
NEXT: Guardians Avoid Sweep With Three Homers And A Parker Messick Gem
