The Guardians are set to turn shortstop to a young infielder who hasnt established himself at the MLB level. Last years Opening Day starter, , was shipped off at the deadline. While hes available in free agency, Cleveland isnt likely to bring him back. They should have a competition between at least two fairly well-regarded young infielders in camp and during the early part of the upcoming season. Lets take a look at the po sibilities: Among returnees, no one played shortstop more frequently last season. He worked as the primary starter after Rosario was traded. Arias picked up 46 starts and Avalanche Store Jersey logged 402 innings at the position overall. Defensive Runs Saved graded him as a neutral defender, while Statcast felt he was slightly better than average. Arias had a strong reputation as a defender during his time as a prospect, showcasing plus arm strength with the hands and lateral agility to stick at the position. Arias would be a clear defensive upgrade on Rosario. The question is how much of an offensive impact hed make. He hit just .210/.275/.352 over 345 plate appearances last season. MLB pitching exploited longstanding questions about his strike zone feel. Arias struck out nearly a third of the time. He chased pitches off the plate with regularity and swung through 19.5% of the offerings he saw. Of the 293 hitters who logged at least 300 plate appearances, swung and mi sed more frequently. Despite the middling offensive output, Arias enters camp as the presumptive favorite. In a reader mailbag this week, suggested the Guardians were likely to give him the first opportunity to seize the job. Arias 2023 season was cut short by a non-displaced fracture in his right wrist when he was hit by a pitch in the final week of September. Theres no indication that he wont be fully healthy for his age-24 season. Arias still has a minor league option, so the Guardians can send him to Triple-A, but itd be a surprise if he isnt on the Opening Day roster. Rocchio, a switch-hitter, has been on the prospect radar for some time. Baseball America has included him among their Top 100 minor league talents four years running. Having recently turned 23, he seems likely to exhaust his rookie eligibility this year. Cleveland gave Rocchio a brief MLB look last season. He was first promoted in April and bounced on and off the club on five separate occasions. Rocchio didnt much make of an impact in his first 86 plate appearances. He didnt hit a home run and limped to a .247/.279/.321 batting line. It wasnt the most impre sive showing, but its also probably not worth making a judgment off a limited sample spread acro s scattered views at big league pitching. In 537 plate appearances for Triple-A Columbus, Rocchio turned in a solid .280/.367/.421 showing. He walked nearly as often as he struck out. Rocchio took free pa ses at an 11.2% clip while punching out just 12.3% of the time. The Guardians prioritize bat-to-ball skills, perhaps more than any other team. Its fair to question how much power upside he po se ses in a slight frame he hit just seven homers in Triple-A but hes more of a prototypical Cleveland hitter than Arias is. Baseball America remains bullish on his chances of carving out a productive career. He ranked as the #2 prospect in the Cleveland system and in the back half of their overall Top 100 this offseason. The outlet credits his advanced feel for hitting from both sides of the plate and gap power. Hes regarded as a solid defender with excellent baseball instincts. Rocchio has one option remaining. Freeman also falls into the archetypal Guardians hitter mold. He makes a ton of contact with minimal power. The right-handed hitter appeared in 64 big league contests last season, posting a modest .242/.295/.366 batting line. He was far better in a 24-game look in Triple-A, where he hit .319/.457/.462 with almost as many walks (12.9%) as strikeouts (13.8%). While he has a broadly similar offensive profile to Rocchio, hes not as highly-regarded defensively. The Guardians used him more frequently at third base than shortstop last season, but he doesnt have a path to consistent playing time at the hot corner unle s suffers an injury. Freeman turns 25 in May and is entering his final option year, so this could be something of a make-or-break year for him to establish himself as a long-term piece in Cleveland. Itd be a surprise if Tenas in the mix for everyday shortstop work, at least early in the year. The left-handed hitter could play a multi-positional role off the bench and rotate through the position at times. Tena was called to the big leagues for the first time in early August. He only received 34 MLB plate appearances and struggled in that minuscule sample (.226/.294/.290). The 22-year-old (23 in March) spent most of last season at Double-A Akron. He posted a .260/.353/.370 line over 362 trips to the plate. Tena walked at a strong 11.3% clip but struck out in an alarming 28.7% of his plate appearances. He still has an option remaining and will probably start the year in Columbus. Cleveland also has a pair of upper minors middle infield prospects on the 40-man roster. , whom they acquired from Colorado in last years trade, briefly reached Triple-A after posting an impre sive .276/.373/.444 slash over 87 Double-A contests. Switch-hitting combined for a .251/.321/.394 line between the top two minor league levels as a 21-year-old. Brito and Martnez are probably each better suited for second base. Its unlikely either breaks camp with Cleveland, but theyre both in close enough proximity to potentially factor into the middle infield competition during the 24 season. If either plays his way to the second base job, the Guardians could consider sliding back to shortstop. Gimnez played exclusively at the keystone last year but posted solid defensive metrics in his early-career work on the left side of the diamond. Milan Hejduk Jersey