Guardians option Juan Brito, bringing second base battle to anticlimactic end

Entering spring training, there were expectations of a battle of sorts of who would succeed Andres Gimenez as the Cleveland Guardians starting second baseman. Unfortunately, the hotly contested competition everyone was hoping for never materialized, ultimately coming to an unsatisfying end on Friday as the Guardians continued to trim down their roster in preparation for Opening Day.

Juan Brito has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus to start the season, with Gabriel Arias expected to be Cleveland's most frequently used second baseman to start the season. Neither Brito nor Arias have been particularly impressive during the spring, with Arias seemingly winning the job by default, which is the least desirable result that could have played out in Arizona.

Arias has 11 hits in 43 at-bats with three home runs and five runs driven in but has struck out 10 times. Meanwhile, Brito was 7 for 37 with a team-leading four long balls while striking out eight times. These are not the batting lines that anyone was hoping for, and they are definitely not good enough to end up winning the starting second base job to start the season. Ideally, one would have performed better and provided the level of offense that the above-mentioned Gimenez was having trouble providing, but these spring training performances are far from the upgrade the Guardians were searching for.

It appeared for a moment that Brito was making a late push to unseat Arias as the frontrunner between the two, but it may have been too little too late. Brito dug himself quite a hole to get out of early in spring, and it was so deep that his recent surge was not enough to put him ahead of Arias. On the other hand, Arias did enough to maintain his slim lead by managing to get a few hits which may have been enough for him to get the job, at least for the beginning of the season.

Between the two, Brito is the more talented player who has more infinitely more upside and has proven to be a more talented hitter as he progressed through Cleveland's minor league system. Arias is who he has always been, a below-average player who does not provide enough at the plate and strikes out far too much to warrant playing on a daily basis.

Based on how the organization has operated previously, Brito being optioned to start the year with Arias remaining on the major league roster should come as no surprise. While many may be screaming service time manipulation from the top of their lungs, that is not the case here. This is merely the Guardians protecting a young and promising player from being exposed to some less-than-ideal early-season weather conditions that could negatively impact a player's performance and mental state while giving someone else one last chance to prove they are worthy of remaining with the ballclub.

Brito will get his chance to be Cleveland's everyday second baseman at some point this season, the only question is when it will happen rather than if. It all depends on how Arias performs and when the organization decides it is time to give someone else the playing time that he is receiving. Once that happens, it will be Brito's time to shine, at least until Travis Bazzana proves that he is ready to make his Major League Debut.