The Cleveland Guardians are ready to start a new era.
Despite having one of the best defensive players in the game, they felt they needed to tweak things a bit.
Also, if that meant shedding money off their books, so be it.
That’s why they made the tough call to move on from Andres Gimenez.
Now, the door is wide open for Juan Brito to become their second baseman of the future.
With that in mind, Jim Bowden of The Athletic chose him as one of the potential candidates for American League Rookie of the Year, even ahead of fellow Guardian Travis Bazzana.
Bowden believes that, since Brito is ahead of Bazzana in terms of development and MLB readiness, the latter might need a long while before getting to the Majors:
“Brito actually has a better chance to be in the Rookie of the Year conversation than Bazzana, the first-overall pick in the 2024 draft. Last season in Triple A, Brito batted .256/.365/.443 with 40 doubles, 21 home runs and 13 stolen bases. An interesting player I’m eager to see this spring,” Bowden said.
Brito is clearly not the defensive stalwart that Gimenez was, but what he lacks there, he definitely makes up for with his solid offense.
He has a nice blend of power and contact, great awareness and discipline at the plate, and he projects to be someone who can contribute right away.
Needless to say, he’s also going to face some steep competition for the starting spot, as the Guardians have a myriad of potential options right now.
None of those options are as promising and worth taking chances as Brito or Bazzana, though.
Barring a major turn of events or an injury, the job should be his to lose if he impresses in Spring Training.
NEXT: Insider Names Guardians Prospect Most Likely To Make Impact In 2025
