3 Guardians who deserve a legit shot and 2 to move on from
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The frustrations are mounting with this Cleveland Guardians ballclub. As the team continues to drop games they have no business losing and failing to significantly close the gap in the division, it creates potential opportunities for players who should get playing time over others who should be shown the door. Here are three Guardians players who deserve a legit shot and two to move on from.
Brayan Rocchio: Legit shot
Brayan Rocchio made his return to the Guardians Friday as the team had to shuffle their roster to accomodate some IL moves and another landing on the paternity list. Rocchio deserves a legitimate look as a starting infielder and should not be sent back down to Columbus when the next roster shuffle occurs in a few days. The team is not learning anything with Rocchio in Triple-A and needs to start embracing their young infield options, for either as a future starter or building up trade value (should that be the route the ballclub takes).
Mike Zunino: Move on
This is an easy decision really. Mike Zunino's defense is poor and his bat is not exactly making up for that. If Zunino were excelling in one area or the other his playing time could be justified. The Guardians have done this in previous seasons, utilizing subpar offensive backstops who also possessed elite traits behind the plate. Unless Zunino's power stroke resurfaces or he suddenly bucks his career trends and becomes an elite defensive catcher, it is time to move on.
Bo Naylor: Legit shot
This goes hand in hand with moving on from Zunino. Bo Naylor is (hopefully) the future of the catcher position in Cleveland. The Guardians are getting no production from either option right now and that needs to be rectified. Cleveland needs to give the younger Naylor a chance at the big league level to see if he can cut it by giving him enough playing time to create a large enough sample size to come to an accurate conclusion. There is no time like the present with Cleveland unable to climb up the standings in the American League Central.
Amed Rosario: Move on
This has been beyond beaten to death, but Amed Rosario's time in Cleveland is coming to an end rather quickly. Rosario is not doing enough to warrant continued playing time when there are other options waiting in the wings that the Guardians front office needs to get definitive answers on. Continuing to play Rosario and bat him second is a disservice to everyone involved.
Tyler Freeman: Legit shot
Another option to get more playing time in lieu of Rosario is Tyler Freeman. Removing Rosario from the infield equation frees up a spot that can be taken by Freeman in some capacity. The only infield position that Freeman has not played is first, but he can be used at the other three when a regular starter needs a day off his feet. That is if Freeman is unable to take over a full-time starting job himself. The point being here is that the team needs to figure out just what they have in Freeman, (is he a starter or super utility player?), and they cannot do that if he is on the bench.