What should the Guardians do with Amed Rosario?

The 2023 season has been an exercise in frustration when it comes to Cleveland Guardians shorstop Amed Rosario. Rosario largely strugged to start the season which prompted many calls from the fanbase to move on from 27-year old middle infielder. But a surge that has seen Cleveland take over the top spot in the division combined with a hot streak from Rosario has made things all the more difficult.

Dating back to June 7th, Rosario has a 127 weighted runs created plus per Fangraphs. Contributing to that has been Rosario's .333/.374/.434 slash line with an on-base plus slugging of .808, a significant step up from his season super slash of .268/.311/.362/.673. During that span Rosario has 43 hits including eight doubles, one triple, and one home run to go with 20 runs batted in over 30 games.

It is obvious that Rosario's performance has certainly helped the Guardians' effort to move into first place in the American League Central Division. That being said, Cleveland's front office has to weigh this situation properly. The rapidly approaching trade deadline will make the Guardians the team to watch as the decision to buy or sell will seemingly change by the day. While the focus has mostly been on Cleveland's pitching staff, Rosario will certainly attract some interest as well.

if the rest of the month does not go well trading Rosario makes a ton of sense. Clearing playing time to give some of Cleveland's promising young infielders a chance to play is an obvious path for the team to take. Should the Guardians create a sizable gap between themselves with the Twins, moving Rosario becomes a less likely scenario. That is as long as he can continue being a meaningful contributor at the plate.

There is even an outcome which could see Cleveland trade Rosario while still being in contention as part of a roster shuffle that sees the team making an instant improvement to a different part of the major league roster. This is the least likely of the scenarios, but it still exists somewhere in the realm of possibilities.

The position that the front office of the Guardians finds themslves in is not enviable by any means. They currently find themselves in a situation that requires a delicate balance and that is a tough spot to be in. How the team decides to handle Rosario should be an indicator of how they view their chances in regards to postseason play.