What started out to be an exciting week for the Cleveland Guardians ended up being just plain sad. However, that won’t stop me from finding three things for us to be happy about.
I know this sounds like an oxymoron, but there has been some good news on the injury front this week. Recent addition Khal Stephen, acquired at the deadline from the Toronto Blue Jays, threw a live batting practice session on Friday, and there are plans for him to throw a second one sometime this coming week. We also received some good news regarding Chase DeLauter, who has been nursing a hamate injury since July 23rd. As of Sunday, he’s officially returned to baseball activities. While he’s only about halfway through the usual recovery period for this type of injury, any kind of action on the field is a good sign. There’s no official timing on the return for either player, but any progression is good news.
Hamilton to Heritage Park
No, you’re not seeing double. While I wrote about Tom Hamilton’s induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame last week, it’s all about his induction into the Cleveland Guardians’ Distinguished Hall of Fame this week. Saturday marked the team’s “Tom Hamilton Celebration Day”, where they gave out Hammy bobbleheads and announced his induction into Heritage Park, the team’s Distinguished Hall of Fame. The announcement came as a surprise to Hamilton and his family, who joined him on the field prior to the game. It’s been a much-deserved month of celebration for this extremely talented and hard-working individual.
Since acquiring the starting pitcher as a free agent in February, the Guardians have not been able to see any action from John Means, who underwent left UCL reconstruction surgery on March 24th. However, that changed on Friday as Means made his first rehab appearance with the Lake County Captains. He went 2 ?
? innings, giving up just one hit while striking out three. Even more impressive, he threw 30 strikes out of the 38 pitches he threw overall. While there’s no specific date in mind for his debut with the Guardians’ big league club, this start was a good sign.