Juan Brito’s home run against Mariners shows just how good he can be for Guardians 

For the past three seasons, Juan Brito has lingered in the minor leagues for the Guardians. After joining Cleveland as the main return for the Guardians’ trade of Nolan Jones to the Rockies, Brito posted a .271 batting average in 2023 across three separate minor league levels. 

A year later, Brito had a .256 batting average in 144 games at Triple-A with the Guardians, which made it seem like he was poised for a big 2025 campaign. 

But instead of making his MLB debut, Brito only managed to play in 31 games last year in the minors last season due to a thumb injury and hamstring strain. 

But now Brito is back, healthy and seemingly ready to earn a spot on the Guardians’ roster. He took a huge step toward doing that on Thursday by smashing a big home run against the Mariners in Cleveland’s spring training game on Thursday. 

Juan Brito launches huge home run in Guardians’ spring training game against Mariners 

Not only was Brito’s homer a great thing to see just in general, the dimensions behind it were even better since it left his bat at 101 miles per hour and traveled 401 feet. It was the kind of majestic blast the Guardians have struggled to get from the middle infielders in recent years. 

Last season the Guardians picked Gabriel Arias and Brayan Rocchio for their middle infield picture over Brito, and it seems like there’s a chance that could happen again this season since Arias is out of minor league options.

But the Guardians were granted an extra option year for Brito, so they have the ability to store him in the minors if he doesn’t break camp with the team. 

Along with having Arias and Rocchio in front of him, Brito also has top prospect Travis Bazzana standing in front of him. While Bazzana isn’t on the Guardians’ 40-man roster, he’s also gotten off to a solid start this spring and is set to play for Australia in the World Baseball Classic, so there’s a chance his star could rise even more. 

The Guardians stayed away from adding any position players on big league contracts last offseason because they felt comfortable with the internal candidates on the roster, which is the exact category that Brito falls into. 

Brito’s been on the Guardians’ 40-man roster for three straight seasons but has yet to appear in a single big league game for Cleveland. That could change in 2026.