Spring training is right around the corner and one question that Cleveland Guardians fans have truly had since this time last year is, "Who will be the team's long-term answer at shortstop?"
There's a long list of contenders heading into the 2024 season so let's take a roll call.
Gabriel Arias took over as the primary shortstop after Amed Rosario was traded. Tyler Freeman has been a highly touted middle infield prospect in Cleveland's organization for years. Brayan Rocchio is currently the club's top-ranked prospect (per MLB Pipeline) and showed signs of promise in his short stint with the big league team last year. Jose Tena made his major league debut in 2023, is he in consideration to start? Oh yeah, Andres Gimenez's natural position is shortstop and he's fresh off winning a Platinum Glove.
Those feel like the core list of candidates heading into spring training. Where Juan Brito and Angel Martinez end up fitting is a conversation for later this season.
So who will be the team's Opening Day starter?
According to Mandy Bell, who covers the Guardians for MLB.com, the player who's seemingly first in line to get the job before spring training is Arias. Bell said in her latest newsletter that, "it would be truly surprising if [the organization] gave someone other than Gabriel Arias the first chance to earn the job ... I wouldn’t say Arias is a lock, by any means, but I don’t think the position is completely up for grabs, either."
This makes the most sense considering Arias probably has the most upside out of this group. His natural pop makes him a homerun threat and Arias has shown on multiple occasions how good of a defender he is. The 23-year-old finished in the 87th percentile in OAA and the 91st percentile in arm strength last season, per Baseball Savant.
However, the red flags in Arias' game are hard to ignore. He had a strikeout rate of 32.8% while only having an OPS of .627 in 2023. That simply isn't going to cut it for a player who's supposed to be known for their power.
As of right now, heading into spring training, giving Arias a chance to be the team's everyday shortstop is probably the wise decision. He's still very young and could provide exactly what this team is missing on offense while being a plus defender.
Let's say Arias' offensive struggles continue and the Guardians are forced to look in a different direction. Who's up next? Spring training could give us that answer.
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