Cleveland Guardians Reunite With Intriguing Infielder

The Cleveland Guardians have reunited with an intriguing infielder before the start of the 2025 MLB season.

Aug 10, 2022; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Cleveland Guardians Nolan Jones (33) helmet in the Guardians dugout prior to their game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians have made another addition just before the start of the 2025 MLB regular season. Well, kind of.

Back in December, the Guardians left infield prospect Christian Cairo unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft, and he was selected by the Atlanta Braves. Now, the Braves have decided to return him to Cleveland.

Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com has reported that Atlanta, who purchased Cairo for $100,000, will "retain half the purchase price."

The Braves may have been looking at Cairo as a potential option for their opening-day roster, but he slashed just .179/.294/.250 across 28 at-bats, so he didn't exactly do much to persuade Atlanta to give him a chance.

Now, Cairo returns to the Guardians, who, ironically enough, don't really have a solution to their second base problem at the moment. However, it is obviously highly unlikely that Cairo will get a shot, although Cleveland may consider him down the line this year.

The 23-year-old was originally selected by the Guardians in the fourth round of the 2019 MLB Draft. While Cairo does not have much power, he has displayed terrific plate discipline in the minors, owning a career .359 OBP in spite of hitting just .221.

Over 413 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A in 2024, Cairo slashed .241/.354/.326 with four home runs and 39 RBI.

If the Bakersfield, Ca. native can ever just get that batting average up, he actually could represent a legitimate option for Cleveland on the major-league level, as his walk rate is very impressive.

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