The Cleveland Guardians entered a new phase of their season following the trade deadline. More at-bats were available for their young middle infield core of Gabriel Arias , Tyler Freeman , and Brayan Rocchio with veterans of Amed Rosario and Josh Bell both departing.
Fans interpreted this move as the organization's way to essentially hold "tryouts" to see if any of them could take the opportunity to become the team's shortstop moving forward. Each of them has their own unique skillset in the field and in the batters' box and in the field making comparing and determining their future difficult.
President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti touched on the young middle infielder's development saying that:
"With the path we're currently on, all of them will continue to be with the organization throughout the course of the winter, into Spring Training next season, and beyond. So, we don't have to make any definite decision in the next few weeks, at the end of the season."
Since July 27 (the day Rosario was traded) the three middle infielders' slash lines have played out like this:
- Arias - .250/.288/.434,
- Freeman - .091/.130/.0.91 (which includes a trip to the IL)
- Rocchio - .250/.286/.327
Even if the Guardians decide to keep these three, they will still need to make decisions regarding the rest of the organization Jose Tena is ready for Big League action, and Juan Brito and Angel Martinez are right behind him.
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