Cleveland Guardians: 3 positions up for grabs this offseason

3 positions up for grabs this offseason for the Cleveland Guardians

Less than 25 games remain in the 2021 season for the Cleveland Indians, meaning the dawn of the Cleveland Guardians is approaching. The time of the Tribe isn’t coming to the close that many hoped, but the future is still bright for the Guardians as they prepare to become the new representatives of Cleveland baseball.

While this season has had bumps and barriers for Cleveland, it has served a very valuable purpose. Multiple young prospects have been given looks at the major league level and the outlook for the future is starting to become the present. However, there’s still a few positions that are up in the air as the offseason approaches.

Cleveland has made it a point to shed large contracts and veteran players over the last few years, preparing for the next wave of youth for the organization while also saving money. The formula has shown positive results in the past and the front office has hopes of repeating that success.

Majority of spots on the field have been taken care of at this point. Whether it be the emergence of Cal Quantrill and Triston McKenzie to complete the rotation, Amed Rosario stepping up at short or the addition of Myles Straw solving center field, Cleveland fans should feel much better about the club’s trajectory than at the beginning of the season.

The Cleveland Guardians shouldn’t lose too many faces this offseason, so most of the team should return. Even so, there will be a handful of spots that simply don’t have a clear answer for how the team will manage the position in 2022.

Internal candidates will fight for time and there’s the possibility of outside additions joining the team in free agency. One way or another, the front office will be searching for answers at these three positions over the coming months heading into Spring Training.

First Base for the Cleveland Guardians

Earlier this season it seemed like perhaps first base in Cleveland was solved. Bobby Bradley was called up and took the league by storm, blasting eight home runs in the month of June to the tune of a .254/.321/.634 slash line. Not too shabby for a 25-year old prospect who was known for immense power.

The problem is that Bradley hasn’t been able to sustain those numbers. A stint on the injured list paused his production, but since June concluded, Bradley has just four home runs with a slash line of .195/.311/.345.

Like we said, an injury was involved so there’s an expected dip, but regardless of reason Bradley doesn’t have first base locked up by any means. He might be the current front-runner with hopes of regaining the spark from June, but there’s definitely an open door for competition.

One player that should get into the mix is Josh Naylor. It’s hard to guess when Naylor will be able to get back into action after his injury, but when he does he should see some time at first, like he did before the injury, playing 15 games at the position in 2021.

Being that Bradley and Naylor are both left-handed batters that struggled against left-handed pitchers but hit right-handed pitchers, a platoon between the two doesn’t make sense. At least not in terms of matchups.

That’s where another player could join the mix. Yu Chang and Owen Miller have played a decent amount of time at first this year, but again, they both hit right-handed pitchers better. Miller has the best average against lefties of the four, and that’s only at .229.

The Cleveland Guardians could explore the idea of adding a cheap first baseman to play against southpaw pitchers, but even the competition to fill the other half of the platoon will be a tight race.

Second Base for the Cleveland Guardians

There might not be a position more up for grabs on the Cleveland Guardians roster than second base. The move of Cesar Hernandez opened the opportunity at the trade deadline and there really hasn’t been a player that has locked it up.

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Yu Chang and Owen Miller have tried their hand as has Ernie Clement, but all three seem better fit to fill a utility role in the big picture. Of the current major league roster, the player with the best outlook might be Andres Gimenez.

Turning 23-years old earlier this month, Gimenez is in the majors at a very young age and while his stats aren’t tremendous, there’s potential. He’s shown improvement with his glove, having just one error at second over 17 games. As for the plate, there’s still work to be done.

For Gimenez, there’s plenty of time to work on his craft and improve his output for his career. However, for Cleveland, there’s a surge of prospects coming down the pipe that will soon be ready.

With so many prospects coming up, like Gabriel Arias and Tyler Freeman to name a couple, Cleveland might try and ride out the storm with their internal options. Arias could crack the big leagues next year, so even a rental to fill the void doesn’t make complete sense, especially for a front office that has to pinch pennies. Instead, a combination of all the other names mentioned on this slide should be enough to hold down the fort until the prospects arrive.