Brayan Rocchio is finally starting to reward the Guardians' faith in him

Brayan Rocchio has filled a lot of different roles for the Guardians since he made his big league debut in 2023. 

He’s gone from star-studded prospect to underperforming second baseman to postseason star all in the span of three years. 

But his latest role change may end up being his best one. 

After opening the season as the Guardians’ starting second baseman, he’s had to shift back to shortstop thanks to Gabriel Arias’ injury.

And while he’s only spent parts of three games at shortstop since Arias’ injury, he’s played well in that time span and seems ready to be the Guardians’ everyday shortstop once again.

Brayan Rocchio seems ready to be the Guardians’ shortstop once again 

Rocchio made one heck of an impression in his return to shortstop on Monday despite only playing three innings at the position after Arias left following a fifth inning double. 

The first signature play occurred in the top of the eighth inning when he ranged to his right and made a fantastic backhanded play followed by a throw to first base to get Salvador Perez at first base. 

He followed that up with a solo home run to the left field bleachers in the bottom of the inning against Royals setup reliever Matt Strahm. 

While the homer only cut into the Royals’ lead, it was an impressive feat of power given how thick and cold the Cleveland air was that night. 

He managed to top that the next day by recording a walk-off single in the Guardians’ come-from-behind win the next day off John Schreiber.

It was yet another clutch hit for Rocchio, who starred for Cleveland in the 2024 postseason before hitting a walk-off home run last year in the Guardians’ season-finale that served as the cherry on top of Cleveland’s postseason berth. 

He also had an RBI hit in Cleveland’s blowout win against the Royals on Wednesday. 

Rocchio’s strong performance at short is a far cry from how things were going for him at this juncture last season. 

After breaking camp as the Guardians’ starting shortstop, he struggled so badly at the start of the season that the Guardians sent him down to Triple-A in May. 

But he made his return in July as a second baseman and seemed much more comfortable at the plate. 

That momentum has carried over to this season, as he’s slashed .216/.356/.324 and has been three percent better than league average per measure of OPS+. 

While Rocchio won’t be moving off shortstop any time soon thanks to Arias being out an estimated 4-to-8 weeks due to his hamstring strain, he did a great job making a positive impression in his initial cameo at the position. 

Not bad for a guy who was playing his way off the big league roster last April.