What does the future of the Guardians’ middle infield look like?

The list of players who have played shortstop for the Guardians over the past five years reads like a list of generational Immaculate Grid answers. 

Can I interest you in some Mike Freeman? How about a bit of Yu Chang? Maybe a sprinkle of  José Tena?

And while Amed Rosario recorded 349 starts at shortstop in that time frame, it quickly (and disappointedly) became clear that he wasn’t the answer at the position. 

The same thing can be said for Andrés Giménez, who was traded away in the offseason two seasons after inking a seven-year contract with the Guardans. 

And while the Guardians pulled the plug on both those experiments at the right time (okay, maybe they were a little late on Rosario), it doesn't change the fact they still don't seem to have a long-term answer at shortstop or second base.

While that instability hasn’t hasn’t killed the Guardians’ season, it’s a question the team will need to answer sooner rather than later. 

Here’s a look at some of the options.

What does the future of the Guardians’ middle infield look like?

The current MLB options

Gabriel Arias and Daniel Schneemann

Ah yes, just like how we predicted at the beginning of the season. 

Twenty-three of Arias’ last 26 appearances have come at shortstop, though Schneemann is lurking in the background. That time at shortstop hasn’t necessarily resulted in success at the plate, however, as he’s coming off a month where he hit .220 after hitting .264 across March/April. 

Arias is in the 86th percentile in arm strength (90.4 miles per hour) and has committed four errors at shortstop. 

While Arias has the kind of swing that seems to be at its best when he’s in the lineup everyday, he’s likely best suited as a utility player. 

And then there’s Schneemann.

He’s seen time at second base, shortstop, left field, right field center field and third base this year, and is becoming a mainstay of the Guardians lineup. 

He’s in the 79th percentile in range (three Outs Above Average) and has only committed one error this year, but, like Arias, he’s likely best suited as a super utility player. 

Arias and Schneemann are both valuable players in today’s MLB landscape (and the kind of players the Guardians have coveted for years), but neither of them are likely the shortstop of the future.

A category of his own 

Brayan Rocchio

Last October, Roccio broke out in the postseason by going 11-for-33 (.333) with one homer, two doubles and five walks in 10 games. 

He couldn’t carry that over into this season, as he hit just .165 in 35 games before being demoted to Triple-A at the beginning of May. 

Rocchio peaked as the Guardians No. 4 prospect (per MLB Pipeline) in 2022, but he hasn’t been able to translate that prospect pedigree into MLB success.

The Guardians had Rocchio work as their full-time starter in 2024 and ‘25, but his lack of success this year forced them to pull the plug. 

That said, he’s posted a .906 in 18 games at Triple-A (four home runs, 17 RBI), so it seems like he’s been able to find a groove with Columbus. 

He’ll likely get another shot with the Guardians this year — could there be a chance it’s his last one?

The minor league pipeline 

Travis Bazzana and Juan Brito

While the Guardians have a lot of outfield prospects who have seemed to be on the cusp of earning an MLB spot for years (looking at you Chase DeLauter and George Valera), they don’t have a ton of MLB-ready middle infield prospects. 

That said, the two middle infield prospects who are close to MLB are exciting. 

First is Bazzana, the No. 1 pick in last year’s MLB Draft, who is currently playing at Double-A Akron. While he’s only hitting .252, he recently came in as the No.12 prospect in baseball in MLB Pipeline’s re-rank of the Top 100 prospects, so he seems to be getting more MLB ready by the day. 

While Bazzana has only played at second base in the minors, recalling him from the minors couldn’t tighten the Guardians middle infield picture. They wouldn’t call him up unless he could play everyday, so that would take one spot away from Arias/Schneemann.

His path to the MLB roster took a hit last month, however, when he was diagnosed with a right internal oblique strain that will keep him out until the second half.

The only other middle infield prospect who could theoretically fit into the MLB shortstop picture this year is Brito, who is currently on the 7-day injured list with Columbus. 

Brito has played all over the diamond in his career, and logged 78 1/3 career innings at shortstop last year. Brito was hitting .291 in 16 games before being injured, and he likely would have already earned a callup with the Guardians this year had he not gotten hurt.

They have some other talented options in the minors like Angel Genao and Welbyn Francisca, both them are still a couple years away from being MLB-ready.

The outside options 

Bo Bichette, Luis Urías and Isiah Kiner-Falefa

The weirdness of the names on this list speaks to the uncertainty around this year’s trade market. 

There are only five teams that entered play on Monday who were 10+ games out in their division (the Orioles, White Sox, Athletics, Marlins, Pirates and Rockies), and it remains to be seen if the Orioles will punt on their season and become sellers. 

That said, it’s not hard to imagine the Guardians targeting one of Bichette, Urías or Kiner-Falefa — all of whom are impending free agents. 

There have been plenty of trade rumors surrounding BIchette over the past couple years due to his lack of extension talks with the Blue Jays, but it remains to be seen if Toronto will actually pull the trigger on trading him. 

Bichette’s hitting .277 this year as the Blue Jays’ leadoff hitter and has been one of the unluckiest hitters in baseball (.313 expected batting average), but he’s a subpar defender (-5 Outs Above Average). 

He’d also require the biggest amount of prospect capital, so the Guardians may not be inclined to give up a lot for a rental when there are cheaper options available. 

One of those options is Urías, who signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the Athletics in the offseason. 

The former Brewer is slashing .252/.342/.417 this year with six home runs after only managing to hit .191 in 41 games with Seattle last year. 

While he doesn’t hit the ball hard, he’s in the 92nd percentile in whiff rate and the 84th percentile in strikeout rate. In other words, he’s the kind of pesky hitter the Guardians love. 

While he hasn’t played shortstop since 2022 (and wasn’t very good when he did), he can fill in at second base easily. 

Lastly there’s Kiner-Falefa. He’s hit .303 in 48 games with the Pirates this year and has primarily played as a shortstop this year. While the Pirates have the best pitcher in the world in Paul Skenes, they’re still 16 games under .500 and seem to be barreling toward another summer spent as a seller. 

It would make sense for the Pirates to trade Kiner-Falefa since he’s an impending free agent, and these are two front offices that know each other very well. Kiner-Falefa would be a band-aid at the position, but that might be just what the Guardians need.