6 Bright Spots from the Cleveland Guardians 2023 season

3. The Team Turned The Page on the Shortstop Position

After some will they or won't they, the Cleveland Guardians decided to move Amed Rosario ahead of the deadline. While the return of Noah Syndergaard was incredibly underwhelming, it was not about inserting the man known as "Thor" into their rotation but rather opening up the future of the position to their internal options. 

What must be understood is the full picture of the decision to part ways with Rosario. Rosario was not going to be here long term. It was clear that his defense was impacted by the shift ban, and he was not doing enough offensively to make up for it. Additionally, this was not a team that was truly in contention, despite technically being in the mix ahead of and after the deadline. This Guardians squad was very flawed, and hanging onto Rosario, as well as others, would not likely result in a postseason appearance.

After dealing Rosario, Cleveland deployed four different players at shortstop the rest of the way. Gabriel Arias led the way, with Brayan Rocchio, Tyler Freeman, and Jose Tena following in order. The Guardians are going to need one of these players to stake their claim as their future shortstop as they look to return to contention next season.