Shortstop has quickly become the most pressing need for the Cleveland Guardians

For the longest time, it seemed like starting pitching or an outfield bat would be the areas on the roster that would be taking priority over any others for the Cleveland Guardians at the trade deadline. Well, not any longer. Shortstop has quickly become the biggest area of need for the Guardians if they are going to win the American League Central division and go on a playoff run.

Cleveland has trotted out Brayan Rocchio and Gabriel Arias at shortstop more often than not, leaving a lot to be desired. It seemed like the Guardians were going to be able to live with the offensive deficiencies of Rocchio as long as his defense would make up for the lost production at the plate. Even though Rocchio made an impressive play in the field earlier in the game, a blunder on a routine double-play ball, which would have gotten Cleveland out of the inning, resulted in Detroit taking a 1-0 lead in the 8th and would end up being the difference in the game.

Is it a little unfair to rush to judgment off this one play? Sure, but addressing shortstop is not exactly a new development, and they are running out of time to do so. The Guardians entered this season with the hope that either Rocchio or Arias would be able to take the position and run with it, but they have essentially both tripped over themselves along the way. This has made what was once something that might need to be addressed at the deadline an absolute must.

Does needing to make a change at shortstop mean that they should ignore other areas in need of help? Absolutely not. The Guardians still need to add at least one starting pitcher and another outfield and/or designated hitter bat to the roster. But if Rocchio and Arias continue to be a liability and the Guardians are forced with a choice between which position to upgrade, finding a new shortstop should take priority over anything else at this time.