AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: GUARDIANS VS RAYS

October 13, 2026

Chase DeLauter

Tropicana Field

Cleveland Guardians

Pregame 2 Press Conference

Q. I know you have some history with Parker Messick dating back to college. What do you remember about him, his mound presence, in college? And what was it like to reunite with him once you guys were both drafted?

CHASE DELAUTER: Yeah, it was sick. Didn't have a good outing against him. I think I struck out three times to start the season against him.

He's a special player. I got to face him again this spring and kind of had a little bit better at-bats off of him. But when he was picked up by the Guardians, I was super relieved that we would be on the same team, that I wouldn't have to face him consistently. Just watching him do his thing is special.

On the mound, he just delivers the ball well. It's hard to pick up out of his hand. He's got great stuff. Especially now, like, when I faced him, he was 90 to 92, now he can run it up to 97. I mean, from that angle, his delivery, that's special. And I mean, we've seen it all year.

Q. How much does José's energy rub off of you guys? He's rounding third last night on the Adell double, he's got this big smile on his face. Just how much does that affect you guys?

CHASE DELAUTER: Yeah, I mean he's the G.O.A.T. Like, I think we feed off of him, right? When he comes out and has that kind of fire, it lights all of us up. That's a guy, that's our leader, that's a guy we want to follow. And he's a true hall of famer for a reason, and that's why.

Q. The Rays are going with the Chandler Simpson tonight and his speed. What does that do to the pressure of your defense? And is he kind of a player that you need to be cognizant of him all the time?

CHASE DELAUTER: Yeah, I mean, I think that's a guy you just, you want him to hit the ball in the air, of course, give your defense a shot there. But I think the way he plays the game, it's getting something in play early and then using his speed to his advantage.

I think for our guys, it's just getting the ball out quick, limiting him to one base at a time as we can. Obviously, if he's on first and he's stealing or whatever, I trust the guys behind the plate to do their thing.

Q. Another José question. Do you have a favorite anecdote or two that we would not see, something behind the scenes about him? About José Ramírez, a favorite anecdote, like something he's done or something that we wouldn't see in the dugout or locker room?

CHASE DELAUTER: Not necessarily. I'm pretty close, locker-wise, with Rocchio and Angel Martinez on that kind of backside with us as well. So I always kind of hear him messing around with those guys and kind of giving them crap.

And to us that's just funny. It kind of sparks that good energy that we were just talking about, whether it's a must-win game or the first game of the season. He can come in there, he can kind of crack jokes.

And then when it's game time between the lines, we all have seen what he can do and how he plays the game. So having that kind of character is special.

Q. How do your contact skills factor into your approach to the plate, how you decide how to attack a certain pitcher and just knowing that you have that to rely on and that you can take shots at certain times? How does it factor into your mix?

CHASE DELAUTER: I think it kind of helps me simplify the game a little bit. It's understanding what the pitcher's really good at, what they're trying to do. And then for me it's trying to be on time for their fastball and then just trusting my hands on the other stuff.

I think the more I personally try to play chess with the pitcher and really think about what they're going to throw and how they're going to throw it, that doesn't really go well for me in particular, as much as I can kind of -- sounds a little cliché -- but shut my brain off and let my eyes and hands just kind of work usually helps me in my approach.

Q. Can you talk about what you've learned about playing a full Major League season, playing over 130 Major League games, especially with, obviously, the time you missed in the minor leagues?

CHASE DELAUTER: Yeah, it's really a mental grind. I mean, we hear that a lot, obviously, but until you've really experienced it, really experienced the ups and downs, and then to having to turn around and play every single day, no matter the results the day before, it's a lot.

You start in March, finish close to October and experience all the weather changes, experience the ups and downs, guys coming in and out of the clubhouse, injuries happen, all that stuff.

I always thought I was making sure my body was good was the main thing, which absolutely is true, especially for me having injuries in the past.

But really experiencing like the mental fatigue and the grind of that the true dog days of the summer, the cold days, whatever it is, it's real. And it's something that, going forward, I think is a big learning thing for me.

Q. Couple years ago the term "Guards ball" popped up to kind of describe your style of play as a team. As a rookie now, what's your personal definition of what that means to you?

CHASE DELAUTER: I think it's just us playing real baseball, being able to win in any fashion we can.

If we're not hitting bullets, then we'll find a way on base and we'll run the bases well. If we're not doing that, then our pitchers will pick us up and we'll play great defense.

Of course, we'll mix in some long balls when we can. But I think it's just finding a way to win in any baseball fashion there is. And I think obviously baseball is kind of -- I wouldn't say gone away from that -- but that's been less of a focus the last couple of years just in baseball in general.

At the end of the day, when you've got to play a series or however many games in a row, when you come out and fundamentally play sound baseball, then I think it puts you in a really good position to win games.

Q. For people who haven't seen a lot of his game up close, what's Parker like as a competitor, and how do you think that's going to come across tonight?

CHASE DELAUTER: He's electric. He kind of feeds off that energy. He likes the crowd. He likes the pressure. I think he's going to come out firing tonight. He's going to be amped up. He's going to have some plus on his stuff, and I can't wait to watch what he does.

Q. How do you go about getting to know the new guys that come over? I know you're young still, but Jo or Nathaniel or even Patrick early? What's the process like?

CHASE DELAUTER: Those guys are -- they're very outgoing guys. They've been around the game for a long time. They've experienced baseball at all levels. Obviously Nate, been in the World Series, won a World Series with the Rangers. Everything like that, but then Jo on the flipside spent a lot of time where he didn't really get to play postseason baseball.

But I mean, those guys come in and they're leaders right away. You can tell when we're in the cages or out on the field, they're keeping the focus where it needs to be. But they're also great clubhouse guys.

They can, again, just like along with José, they can crack jokes when they need to. They can kind of get your mind off of the pressure of the game and that mental fatigue that I was talking about. And they've experienced that. They've done it for a long time. And I think it's special to have those guys in the clubhouse.