Guardians make long-awaited decision on top infield prospect Juan Brito

For the second straight season, the Cleveland Guardians made the decision to send Juan Brito down to the minor leagues at the end of spring training. 

Hopefully that decision results in Brito having a more successful season than last year, as that demotion kicked off a lost season for the middle-infield prospect. 

On Thursday the Guardians officially confirmed that Brito will start the season in the minors by sending him to Triple-A alongside reliever Trevor Stephan, who was reassigned to minor league camp. 

Juan Brito should still help the Guardians at the big league level in 2026 

Brito spent all spring in the Guardians’ big league camp and hit .145 (4-for-26) with one home run, six RBI and 11 strikeouts. After Brito was officially sent down, manager Stephen Vogt told reporters that he saw a “good body of work” from Brito in the spring, and that his biggest focus at the start of the season will be getting defensive versatility in the infield and right field. 

“The more spots we can get his bat in the order the better,” Vogt said, per Cleveland.com’s Joe Noga.  

Brito is still in a great spot considering he’s the only big league-ready middle-infielder in the minors who is currently on the 40-man roster. While Travis Bazzana will likely have his name called at some point during the 2026 season, he’s not on the 40-man roster. 

Brito can also play at first, second and third base, so it’ll be easier for him to fill a hole on the roster compared to Bazzana, who can only play second base. 

Brito would have made his MLB debut at some point last season had he not suffered a thumb injury in April that eventually required surgery, but that debut should happen at some point in 2026 so long as he’s able to stay healthy. 

The other part of Thursday’s transactions was the reassignment of Stephan, who isn’t on the Guardians’ 40-man roster. 

Stephan, who allowed one run over 3 1/3 innings this spring for the Guardians to go along with five strikeouts, is still working his way back from Tommy John surgery he underwent in April 2024. 

All of his breaking balls seem to have the same level of snap they had pre-injury, but his fastball velocity was at 90.7 miles per hour this spring, which is more than four mph less than where it was prior to him getting hurt. 

The Guardians are already on the hook for Stephan’s $3.75 million salary in 2026 as a part of the four-year contract he signed ahead of the 2023 season, but it’s clear that he’s not at a point where he can be a big league contributor. 

“We’re all rooting for Steph to get back on the right track,” Vogt said, per Noga.