Published: Nov. 4, 2024 at 5:17 PM EST |Updated: 8 hours ago CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The Guardians will not have utility man David Fry for at least the first six weeks of next season and even upon his return he will only be able to DH for 2025. — Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) November 4, 2024 The club announced on Monday that he needs elbow surgery after dealing with it being injured last season. The recovery will be 6-8 months to return to hitting, but a more costly 12 months for returning to the field. So when they do get him back, it will only be as a designated hitter. A six month time line puts him back in May, but he would still need time to get ready for the regular season because he will have missed spring training. If it is an eight month recovery we are talking about seeing him in the second half of the year. Fry was a massive part of the team’s post season run. He delivered a key 2-run homer in Game 4 in Detroit to push the series to five games. Fry also hit a walk off 2-run blast in Game 3 of the ALCS, securing the Guardians only win in that series. The club also announced the following 40-man roster moves. -OF Myles Straw accepted an outright assignment to AAA Columbus. -Activated RHP James Karinchak from the 60-day Injured List (outrighted and granted free agency). -Activated LHP Sam Hentges and RHP Trevor Stephan from the 60-day Injured List. The 40-man roster sits currently at 38 players. Copyright 2024 WOIO. All rights reserved. Most Read