Guardians shortstop not viewed highly in recent ranking

Entering 2024, no one was quite sure how the Cleveland Guardians would approach the shortstop position. There were a few options available to them, none of which were particularly exciting, but it was Brayan Rocchio who won out and received the majority of playing time this past season. Rocchio was mostly fine in his 143 games, but it was limited offensive production that resulted in him not being ranked highly in a recent list.

Appearing on Bleacher Report, Ranking the Top 25 Shortstops of the 2024 MLB Season was compiled by Joel Reuter, with Rocchio barely cracking the list. Coming in as the 23rd-ranked shortstop, it was Rocchio's defensive abilities that prevented him from being relegated to Honorable Mention status, as his offensive output was quite underwhelming.

The 23-year-old hit just .206/.298/.316 with 18 doubles, eight home runs and 36 RBI in 442 plate appearances, but he was a Gold Glove finalist on the strength of his elite defensive metrics (11 DRS, 9.1 UZR/150).

Rocchio's 79 OPS+ in 2024 was the second-lowest of Cleveland's regulars (Bo Naylor's 76 was the lowest). Like the younger Naylor, Rocchio plays a position where a lack of offensive production can be forgiven if a certain level of defensive ability is reached. Rocchio clearly qualifies as someone who is somewhat forgiven for his offensive struggles due to his defensive prowess.

Of course, settling for what Rocchio can provide at the plate is far from ideal. The Guardians would benefit from having another bat in the lineup capable of being at least average, and Rocchio may not be able to get to that point, given his profile. Expect Cleveland to explore all options available to them unless Rocchio takes a massive step forward offensively, including shifting Andres Gimenez back to short. This has been an idea floating around for quite some time but never really gained any traction for one reason or another. Now, with a full offseason to prepare and a possible heir to second base on the way in Travis Bazzana, moving Gimenez back to the other side of second might be the route to take. That is unless Rocchio can give them a reason not to, but this scenario does not seem all that likely, barring unforeseen changes.