Predicting Guardians 2024 Opening Day Infield, Pre-Spring Training Edition

The Cleveland Guardians have several areas of the infield to evaluate during spring training.

Spring training workouts are officially underway for the Cleveland Guardians even though they won't officially start exhibition games until Saturday, February 24. 

Now is a great time to evaluate where the Guards stand in terms of their infield and predict who's going to be starting on Opening Day which is about a month and a half away. (Note: This prediction list groups the designated hitter position with the infield because of the candidates for the role.)

Jose Ramirez - 3B

Let's start with an easy one. Jose Ramirez is going to be the starting third baseman for the Guardians as long as he's on the roster. According to GM Mike Chernoff, that could be for the rest of J-Ram's big-league career. There should be no reason to believe that Ramirez won't be starting there when the Guardians open up the season in Oakland on March 28.

May 24, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) fields a ball hit by Chicago White Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada (not pictured) during the eighth inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Andres Gimenez - 2B

Here's where things get a little more interesting. Andres Gimenez will be in the team's Opening Day lineup, where he'll be playing in another conversation. 

Stephen Vogt admitted during the first media availability of the spring that there have been some talks about sliding Gimenez over to shortstop at some point. This would make sense considering his elite defensive abilities and some of the other middle infield prospects who could stick at the major league level.

But for now, Vogt said the plan is to have Gimenez play second base so that's where he's going to stay on this projection list.

Gabriel Arias - SS

Probably the most interesting storyline heading into the season is who will be the starting shortstop. There's a long list of contenders but the top three are Brayan Rocchio, Gabriel Arias, and Tyler Freeman. 

Heading into spring training, Arias feels like the safe choice to start the season there. He took over as the full-time shortstop after Amed Rosario was traded and showed flashes of potential. Arias is a phenomenal defensive player, but the offensive consistency is what's holding him back.

Josh Naylor, Deyvison De Los Santos - 1B, DH

These positions are going to be easier to just group together. Josh Naylor's name was floated around in trade rumors this offseason but as it stands, he's on the roster. As long as he's on the Guardians he'll be getting reps at first base and as the designated hitter on his off days.

Deyvision De Los Santos is the intriguing part of this equation. He needs to be on Cleveland's active big league roster to stay with the organization, per Rule 5 Draft guidelines. If he needs to be on the roster, he may as well be getting everyday at-bats for the organization to see what they have in him.

Throughout his minor league career, De Los Santos has been a corner infielder so having him tandem first base and DH with Naylor would be a wise decision to start the season. 

Bo Naylor - C

Guardians fans have been waiting a long time for Bo Naylor to be the everyday catcher for this team. Finally, he's going to get that opportunity in 2024 and there is no limit on what his potential could be. It's only natural that Austin Hedges will get some reps behind the plate, but Bo should get the majority of innings.