The Cleveland Guardians are currently letting multiple infielders, most of them young, talented, and promising, compete for the starting second base gig.
They traded away their starter at the position, Andrés Giménez, and are now looking at Angel Martinez, Juan Brito, Daniel Schneemann, Gabriel Arias, and Tyler Freeman as the main candidates to win the job.
Cleveland sports analyst Bruce Drennan was asked what Martinez and Brito’s disappointing spring training numbers mean for the competition.
The analyst took advantage of the opportunity to praise Brito and say that it’s a matter of defense, not offense, with him.
“I think the fans will be pleased when they see him at the plate, with his presence,” Drennan said.
What are your thoughts on Juan Brito at 2nd base?
"I think the fans will be pleased when they see him at the plate, with his presence."
–@Bruce_Drennan pic.twitter.com/FGEIjPAmo7
— Bruce Drennan Show (@Bruce_Drennan) March 11, 2025
The 23-year-old Brito is hitting .095 with a .555 OPS in the spring.
He has just two hits in 21 at-bats, but both of them left the yard.
The Guardians must be patient with Brito if they are going to give him the keys to, well, the keystone.
Drennan is right: Brito has hit in every stop and every year he has been a professional.
The league average wRC+ is 100, and Brito’s lowest mark as a pro was actually last year, at 113.
In 2024, he showed off his pop with 61 extra-base hits: 40 doubles and 21 round-trippers.
Brito, if given the chance, will probably be an above-average offensive second baseman.
The question is: will his defense be passable in the middle of the infield?
No one is asking him to be Giménez out there: that’s impossible.
The Guards will be ecstatic with average or slightly below-average defense if he hits his offensive ceiling, though.
NEXT: Doug Nikhazy Stumbles Against Elite Dodgers Lineup
