The Cleveland Guardians’ outfield play in the last few years has been mediocre, to say the least. In 2025, they ranked 29th out of 30 MLB teams with a 77 wRC+ and were also next-to-last with 0.2 fWAR, in both cases only ahead of the Kansas City Royals.
That’s with All-Star and Gold Glove left fielder Steven Kwan, so imagining how things would be without him is a depressing exercise. The 2026 campaign, however, has the potential to bring a talented, promising group of outfielders with it.
Chase DeLauter is healthy and vying for a spot, and George Valera is also returning after a successful 16-game cameo last year in which he posted a 113 wRC+ and went yard twice. According to manager Stephen Vogt, those three players will be starters in the outfield in most games.
There will be a rotation system in place, though, as Guardians insider Paul Hoynes explains.
“Vogt has a roster full of outfielders and said he’s going to play them ‘all over the place.’ Vogt said Chase DeLauter will play mostly right and center field. George Valera will spend most of his time in left and right field. Kwan will bounce between left and center,” Hoynes wrote.
Basically, he has two main options for center field: DeLauter and Kwan. Kwan is arguably the best defensive left fielder in the American League, but could be used in center on occasion to avoid playing the injury-prone DeLauter there so much.
That’s actually the best alignment: Kwan in center, Valera in left, and DeLauter in right to take advantage of his arm. Vogt, however, doesn’t seem inclined to move Kwan from his preferred left field spot permanently, but is open to doing it occasionally.
Valera will rotate between the outfield corners and has a very good chance to contribute 20 homers and above-average offensive performance. Angel Martinez is also around to bounce between the infield and center field when needed, and Johnathan Rodriguez can also play a bench or DH role if he performs in spring training and wins a spot.
For the first time in years, the Guardians’ projected outfield starters could all be above-average offensive performers.
NEXT: Guardians Star Earns Top Spot Among Best In His Position
