Cleveland Guardians: The 2022 Opening Day Dream Lineup

6. Gabriel Arias, 2B, Cleveland Guardians

Second base is one of the biggest question marks entering the offseason for the Cleveland Guardians internally. There are plenty of options already with the club, but the question will be which one emerges? Owen Miller, Yu Chang, Andres Gimenez and more could be in the mix, but the one that could get the job is Gabriel Arias.

Arias had a strong showing in Triple-A Columbus in 2021, slashing .284/.348/.454 over 115 games with the club. Over the last 90 days of the season those numbers were a bit higher at .303/.341/.490.

The area that Arias will need to improve if he wants to gain a starting job will be in the field. Arias committed 14 errors, including 11 at shortstop, during the 2021 season. He also played just nine games at second base, totaling 68.2 innings at the position. That is what makes this seem like an uphill climb.

The other barrier for Arias is service time. Even if he is the front-runner for a position in Spring Training, there’s the chance he starts in Triple-A to gain the extra time on his contract. For a team like Cleveland that is always looking to save money, that could be a likely route the team takes.