This Guardians player's versatility is key to Travis Bazzana making MLB debut in 2026

At the MLB Winter Meetings earlier this month, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt spoke about the Guardians’ middle infield picture, where he let the fanbase know that Brayan Rocchio and Gabriel Arias are going to be right in the middle of Cleveland’s middle infield picture in 2026. 

While both players had strong prospect pedigree, they’ve both been frustratingly inconsistent throughout their career, which has led to some buzz this offseason about their futures in Cleveland.

Although Vogt’s comments at the Winter Meetings seem to indicate that both of them will play key roles in 2026, their standing on the roster is a bit shakier due to the presence of top prospect Travis Bazzana, who made it all the way to Triple-A last year before getting hurt. 

And with the Guardians seemingly planning on being aggressive in giving playing time to Chase DeLauter and George Valera, it stands to reason that Bazzana may not be far behind them, which could push one of Arias or Rocchio to the sideline. 

Or, in the case of Arias, to a different position on the diamond. 

The Guardians have an abundance of options in the middle infield

While Arias primarily played at shortstop in 2025, he’s just a year removed from a season where he played at every position but catcher and pitcher, and it looks like that could be in his future for 2026. 

““You're going to see Brayan play a lot of shortstop during Spring Training, as well, and Gabby probably play a little bit elsewhere, just to be ready for it,” Vogt said at the Winter Meetings, per MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins. 

Rocchio started the 2025 season at shortstop before moving to second base midway through the season after a demotion to Triple-A, marking the first time in his career that he played the position. 

He ended the season on a tear and provided Guardians fans with some ‘Rocctober’ heroics in the form of his postseason home run against the Tigers, and it looks like that performance will lead to him having a leg up in the shortstop competition for 2026. 

While his strong finish to the season was great, he entered 2025 on the back of a strong finish to 2024 and ended up being sent to Triple-A, so his success is by no means guaranteed. 

And any struggles from either player will just increase the cries for Bazzana (who posted a .420 on-base percentage at Triple-A last year and is currently ranked as the No. 17 prospect in all of baseball) or Juan Brito, who struggled with injuries in 2025 but is another promising infield prospect. 

Bazzana hasn’t played anywhere but second base in his MLB career, so someone will need to get displaced for his eventual call-up. And, based on Vogt’s comments, it seems like that person will be Arias. Brito is also a second baseman, but he’s seen time at first base and in the outfield, so he offers a bit more versatility. 

The Guardians got just enough out of their middle infield picture during last year’s run toward the AL Central crown. While it looks like they’re running it back with the same players in 2026, it looks like there’s a chance we could see some new options sooner rather than later.