Guardians notes: Team dealing with multiple injuries, including one to Seven Kwan, to open second half

CLEVELAND — Instead of entering the second half healthy, the Guardians are dealing with a laundry list of injuries, including one to All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan. Kwan was out of the lineup Friday night for the series opener against the Athletics and is listed as day-to-day with a nagging right wrist injury that bothered him throughout the first half. Kwan played in the All-Star Game in Atlanta and drove in the game-tying run in the ninth inning to force a swing-off in the National League's victory Tuesday. He was examined by doctors Wednesday and received an injection. "We encouraged him to go play in the All-Star Game," manager Stephen Vogt said. "He earned the right to go play in that All-Star Game, knowing he received an injection on Wednesday, so it'll be day-to-day until he's back ready to play. But we knew this was coming. "The plan was for him to go play in the All-Star Game, go see our docs on Wednesday and then they would come up with … we knew the injection could be a possibility. We've been talking about that for the last month while he's dealing with the wrist." Jose Ramirez opted to skip the All-Star Game in favor of rest for his injured ankle. Vogt said it was beneficial for the third baseman. "He feels great. I just spoke with him in the hallway," Vogt said. "He's got pep in his step. He always does, but he said that the four days down really helped him, and he's ready to rock for a great second half." Fans have been clamoring for the promotion of top prospect Chase DeLauter from Triple-A Columbus, but the oft-injured outfielder is also dealing with a wrist injury that has bothered him for the past couple weeks. It could delay his ascension to the majors. "I don't think we're thinking about that," general manager Mike Chernoff said. "I think we're just thinking about 'let's figure out what's going on and see what his current status is in Columbus,' and then we would look at those steps afterwards. "But obviously we want him to be a healthy player and I just feel badly for Chase. He's been through a lot this year and so to now have this issue that's been lingering a little bit, I hope we can work through it and he can remain healthy and if not, we'll take it from there." ** Right-hander Shane Bieber (right elbow surgery) is scheduled to make a rehab start (three innings, 30 pitches) at an Ohio-based minor league affiliate Tuesday — his second since a setback shut him down for two weeks. "Beebs came out of his last start really good," said Vogt. "Our pitching group and our medical group are all looking at the velocities, the movements, but really more importantly it's, 'Shane, how are you feeling? Are you coming out with soreness? Is it general soreness?' Shane felt great and that's where we're at today." ** Reliever Paul Sewald could be lost for the season after an MRI revealed what Vogt called a "moderate tear strain" in his right shoulder. Sewald, who has been limited to 18 appearances, had just returned from the IL after missing over two months with a shoulder strain. "He is going to be shut down for a period of time, no throw," Vogt said. "It's just really bad news for Paul and for us." Right-hander Nic Enright was recalled from Columbus to take Sewald's spot in the bullpen. ** Shortstop Gabriel Arias (left ankle sprain) began a rehab assignment at Columbus on Friday. ** Lane Thomas (plantar fasciitis) has begun to participate in baseball activities. "He's building back up to get ready to go out on rehab assignment," Vogt said. "He's feeling better each day, so really good news on Lane." ** Trevor Stephan (right elbow) is nearing the end of his 30-day rehab deadline at Columbus. The Guardians can activate him or apply for an extension since the right-hander is returning from UCL surgery. ** Travis Bazanna (oblique strain) was activated from the IL at Double-A Akron and was in the lineup Friday. He was sidelined for over two months in his first full season on the professional level. Rally cry The Guardians won six of their last seven games prior to break after losing a season-high 10 straight. What was Vogt's message to his team heading into the second half? "Keep being us," he said. "We said it throughout the 10 days and you get eye rolls and you get all these things, but we have to continue to be us and we did. And then these guys rattled off six out of seven going into the break. "So continue to be us, keep working to get better, keep pushing, taking care of the little things. When we play good defense and we pitch well, we have an opportunity to win." "It was way better to win six out of seven than what we did the previous 10 days before that, but I think this is a period of high significance and importance for the team," Chernoff said. "We gotta see where we come out of the break. Our schedule was one of the hardest up through that point, up through that 10-game losing streak, unfortunately. It starts to get easier, hopefully, at least in terms of the records of the teams that we play. I know our guys remain hungry and this will be a hugely important couple of weeks for us." Facing a double-digit deficit to first-place Detroit in the Central Division standings, Cleveland is likely playing for a wild card berth. "I don't even think about it. We've got to focus on each day," Vogt said. "All we can control is our outcome each day. We just got to get in. I think you never know. Weirder things have happened in baseball. That's why we play all 162. "You can't write the story before the season ends. So we have two and a half months ahead of us that we have an opportunity to win a ton of games and turn this season into something really special and that's what we're focused on each day." Roundin' third The Guardians' opponents for the remainder of the regular season entered Friday with a combined .476 winning percentage. Of Cleveland's next 33 games, 30 are against teams under .500. ** The Guardians promoted Columbus hitting coach Junior Betances to the major league staff. ** Tonight, 7:10, Allen (6-7, 4.00) vs. Severino (2-11, 5.16). Guardians TV; WOBL 1320-AM and 107.7-FM, WTAM 1100-AM, WMMS 100.7-FM. Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on X @CAwesomeheimer.