5 Guardians who must prove their worth in 2025

Cleveland Guardians v Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Guardians v Chicago White Sox | Nuccio DiNuzzo/GettyImages
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The 2024 season saw the Cleveland Guardians win the American League Central Division and appear in the ALCS against the New York Yankees. If the Guardians are going to match or even exceed their success from last season, they will need a few players to step up and prove their worth in 2025.

1. Gabriel Arias - Infielder

The Guardians have given Gabriel Arias more than enough chances to prove he is capable of being a major league-caliber player, and he has been unable to do so. With a career .212/.274/.350 slash line and 74 OPS+ in 191 games, Arias has failed to show he is worthy of seeing playing time in the bigs.

With Andres Gimenez traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, this creates an opening at second base that is Arias' for the taking if he plays well enough. This is actually the second straight that Arias will be up for a middle infield spot, ultimately losing the starting shortstop gig to Brayan Rocchio. If Arias gets passed over again for another starting infield spot, it could very well spell the end of his time in Cleveland, and it would not be for a lack of faith in his abilities. There comes a point when the time invested in a player exceeds the potential return, and Arias is right at the point where a decision is going to be made either way.

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