Opening Day lineup prediction for Guardians has ideal winner of key position battle

For the most part, the Opening Day lineup for the Cleveland Guardians will not feature any surprises. The majority of the spots in their lineup are uncontested, and those without players that can be written in just about every day have their platoon partners in place. However, there is one position that is up for grabs, and a recent prediction of who wins that battle has the Guardians going with the best possible option at this time.

The latest attempt from Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter to predict each team's lineup on Opening Day has the Guardians opting to go with Juan Brito over Gabriel Arias at second base. Brito and Arias are both in the mix to take over for former second baseman Andres Gimenez now that he plays for Toronto.

Reuter believes that while a case can be made for either player, Brito could end up winning while Arias ends up as a utility player for Cleveland, "The spring position battle between Juan Brito and Gabriel Arias for the starting second base job is truly a wide-open competition, though Arias will likely find his way onto the Opening Day roster regardless since he is out of options and can serve as a backup all over the infield.".

Slotting Arias into a backup role seems to be the most logical choice for the Guardians, as they would have a potentially superior offensive player in Brito at second most days while having someone capable of playing multiple infield positions. Something else to consider here is that since Arias is out of options, it will give him one last chance to prove that he's worthy of being on Cleveland's major league roster.

Arias has struggled to perform offensively for the Guardians, looking more the part of a Quad-A player than an actual major leaguer. There is a reason he lost the battle for Cleveland's starting shortstop last season and why he is in yet another battle this spring after all. Meanwhile, Brito appears to have more potential and could provide a level of offense that Arias is not capable of.

When looking at the big picture, whoever wins the starting second base gig will only be a placeholder for Travis Bazzana. The first overall pick of the 2024 MLB June Amateur Draft could very well be Cleveland's Opening Day second baseman in 2026, but until then, it is up to either Brito or Arias to hold down the fort for the time being.