Guardians 2024 spring training battles: Breaking down the 3 options at shortstop

The path is clearer than it has been in the recent past, but the Guardians still enter spring training with their shortstop position wide open.

Three young options are all vying to be the Guardians' primary shortstop once Opening Day rolls around on March 28 in Oakland. It was clear last year when the Guardians traded Amed Rosario that they wanted to give their influx of young middle infielders more at-bats.

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For years, the Guardians have been flush with young talent up the middle. The 2024 season is when they'll begin to really find some answers about that group.

Here's a look at the Guardians' position battle this spring at shortstop.

Gabriel Arias earning the most playing time with his glovework

Gabriel Arias, who won't turn 24 until next week, has been given the most playing time to date largely due to his above-average arm and defense, but he'll have to earn any playing time moving forward.

He's logged just over 400 plate appearances over the last two seasons in the majors and has a combined .207 average and .630 OPS. The offense simply hasn't come around yet. And while his above-average arm and defensive versatility are useful assets, the Guardians lineup badly needs more production.

Arias will likely have at least a semi-regular role somewhere due to how he can be utilized off the bench. But an everyday role will demand some offensive consistency.

He has a ZiPS (a player projection system developed by FanGraph's Dan Szymborski) projected value of 1.0 fWAR.

Tyler Freeman's offensive upside could provide a spark

Tyler Freeman has long had the reputation, at least as a well-regarded prospect, as being an above-average option at the plate for a shortstop, mainly for his bat-to-ball skills. But, like Arias, it hasn't translated to the major league level yet.

In a slightly smaller sample size than Arias (254 plate appearances), Freeman, also 24 years old, has a similar OPS (.641). Arias' arm probably would act as a tiebreaker here, so if Freeman is to win the job to start the 2024 season, his bat will need to do the talking this spring. The offensive potential, at least, is higher here.

"I think I took a jump from the year prior to last year just on exit velocity numbers, just hitting the ball harder," Freeman said at the team's complex in Goodyear, Arizona. "So now it's just kind of maintaining that, just kind of making sure the swing's in the perfect spot. I'm in a good launch position and just trying to attack anything that's in the zone."

He has a ZiPS projected value of 1.2 fWAR.

Brayan Rocchio represents Guardians' youngest shortstop option

Brayan Rocchio is the youngest of the bunch at 23 years old, and the least experienced in the majors, but he also has the highest ceiling among this trio.

The odds are pretty high that at some point in 2024, or at least by Opening Day 2025, Rocchio will overtake the other two as the team's primary shortstop. And it might even happen by the end of spring training this year.

Rocchio was just ranked by Keith Law as the No. 13 prospect in all of baseball. He's a legitimate switch-hitter who, as Law noted, "has become extremely difficult to strike out" while displaying a level of power (33 home runs in the minors the last two years) and improving his defensive skillset along the way.

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As one of the team's top prospects, the organization will want him to receive everyday at-bats. So if he isn't deemed ready to take over the shortstop position just yet, he might be better suited to play every day in Triple-A for a bit.

If he doesn't quite look ready for a major role this spring, the Guardians might opt to see what they have in Arias and/or Freeman first. It's also possible Rocchio could force his way onto the Opening Day roster.

He has a projected ZiPS value of 2.0.

Bonus: Andres Gimenez

It's possible the Guardians could move Andres Gimenez, last year's Platinum Glove winner at second base, to shortstop and leave it at that. It'd open up second base and would put the Guardians' best defensive player at the diamond's most important position.

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But Gimenez has also shown to be a massive asset at second base, which became even more important in 2023 with the outlawing of defensive shifts. It put a premium on defense on the right side of the diamond, and Gimenez is the game's best at that spot. There is certainly some validity to moving Gimenez over to the left side of the diamond, but for now, he could stay put. "We've talked about it. We haven't completely ruled it out, but it's hard to move a Platinum Glove winner off of second base when he plays the position at such an elite level," said new manager Stephen Vogt. "There have been conversations, but as of right now the plan is for Andres to be at second base."

And in addition to the aforementioned options, the Guardians also have middle infielders Juan Brito, Angel Martinez and Jose Tena already on the 40-man roster. They're packed to the gills with options for the next several years.

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But they're waiting for one to emerge and break away from the pack.

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians spring training battle at shorstop: Arias, Freeman, Rocchio