Cleveland Guardians: Amed Rosario is on an absolute tear

Guardians shortstop Amed Rosario has been crushing the ball since June, helping to keep Cleveland in the postseason discussion.

When Amed Rosario gets hot at the plate, he gets really hot at the plate.

Right now, he’s in he middle of a particularly scorching stretch dating back to June 1. Over that time – 43 games now – Rosario is hitting .339/.368/.489 with four home runs, ten doubles, four triples and 17 RBIs, raising his wRC+ on the season to 106.

In the past week, he’s taken it even further, hitting .438 in eight games. The 26-year-old now has the highest xBA of his career at .290 and is striking out just 15% of the time, propelling him to what is becoming the best season of his career.

Rosario, 26, really took things up a notch when he was moved to the second spot in the order following a restructuring that initially saw Steven Kwan moved down to ninth. And now with Kwan in the leadoff spot, back to having a fine rookie season himself, the 1-2-3 of Kwan, Rosario and José Ramírez really solidifies the top of Cleveland’s lineup.

All this being said, there are still plenty of fans who wouldn’t mind seeing Rosario traded, possibly as soon as this year at the upcoming trade deadline. It really all comes down to defense – Andrés Giménez is clearly a better shortstop, and the Guardians have simply refused to swap their positions when out in the field together. It’s a baffling strategy to be sure, but not one that should result in just shipping Rosario out of town.

Not to mention the glut of middle infielders in the minor-league system, with guys like Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman and soon Brayan Rocchio looking to get their chance.

The fact is, though, that Rosario is controlled through the 2024 season and is, by all accounts, loved by his teammates. More importantly, fans often get caught up in the potential promise of a prospect, neglecting to see what they have right in front of them.

That’s not to say the Guardians need to find a way to get these other guys in Cleveland soon, but it shouldn’t come at the price of simply dumping a guy who seems to be putting it all together at the plate. Finding league-average bats is never a guarantee, and no matter what you think a prospect can do at the major-league level, it’s all ultimately a crapshoot. And even if a prospect does one day become the player everyone expects him to be, that can take years.

So while Rosario’s time in Cleveland may end eventually – assuming a top prospect pushes him out at some point down the road – that shouldn’t be the case anytime soon, especially not at this year’s trade deadline.