Predicting Guardians 2024 Opening Day Lineup, Post Winter Meetings Edition

What will the Cleveland Guardians 2024 Opening Day lineup look like?

The Cleveland Guardians have made a few minor moves during the offseason. 

However, their lineup will largely look the same as it did last season. The organization is heavily relying on its young roster to develop and get the offensive help they "need from within. 

Keeping all of this in mind, this is what the Guardians starting lineup could look like for the 2024 Opening Day.

1. Steven Kwan (L) LF
2. Jose Ramirez (S) 3B
3. Josh Naylor (L) 1B
4. Bo Naylor (L) C
5. Gabriel Arias (R) SS
6. Andres Gimenez (L) 2B
7. Ramon Laureano (R) CF
8. Will Brennan (L) RF
9. Deyvison De Los Santos (R) DH

This Guardians lineup isn't necessarily an easy one to put together. The idea here was to space out this heavy left-handed lineup while prioritizing pop in the middle of it.

The top three hitters, Kwan, Ramirez, and Naylor, can probably be inked in unless an unforeseen injury or trade occurs. Kwan has proven himself to be a tremendous leadoff hitter while the Ramirez-Naylor duo has been successful in the past.

After the top three is where it gets complicated.

Bo put together a strong final month of the season which earns him the right to move up in this order. Ideally, Cleveland can get some pop from their clean-up hitter and the younger Naylor brother can provide just that. The biggest issue with hitting Bo behind Josh is that there are three left-handed bats in the first four hitters. 

It'll have to do.

This potential lineup assumes that the Guardians roll with Arias as SS to start the season. He typically hit toward the end of the lineup in 2023, but they'll need his right-handed bat to be a consistent presence if he wants to keep the starting position.

Apr 4, 2023; Oakland, California, USA; Cleveland Guardians second baseman Gabriel Arias (13) celebrates with second baseman Andres Gimenez (0) after hitting a home run during the fourth inning against the Oakland Athletics at RingCentral Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports / © Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

I actually think that the middle of the lineup is perfect for Gimenez as opposed to the top three. He is a high-contact hitter which could lead to plenty of RBI if those in front of him can get on base.

Brennan and Laureano are two players who could be great additions at the back of the lineup but are too inconsistent to place any higher up. 

Kyle Manzardo is obviously a name that fans may have been expecting to see here. There's no way that the Guardians keep him in Triple-A for the entire season. However, it seems that he could start the year there, especially with the recent acquisition of De Los Santos. 

Plus, the Guardians need to play their Rule 5 Draft selection or they'll lose him.

This entire lineup changes once Manzardo reaches the big leagues.