The Cleveland Guardians can’t afford to trade Amed Rosario

The Cleveland Guardians may want to think twice about trading Amed Rosario.

The Cleveland Guardians are not a team that is very deep. That’s beyond obvious. The offense has struggled all year, and we’re not entirely sure if they caught the same thing the Cleveland Cavaliers had this past season. Despite the lack of offense in the city, the Guardians are still sticking close to the AL Central’s top dog. They have a shot to get back on track and win the division. That shot may not be as reliable if they trade Amed Rosario.

Rosario is not having a great year, but he’s not having a bad one either. He’s got nice offensive splits of .253/.288/.360 and an OPS of .648. He’s hit one home run, eight RBI, and walked just eight times while striking out 44 times in just 36 games. He’s not having an All-Star season, that’s for sure.

The fans, however, want to trade Rosario. They believe that young rookie, Gabriel Arias, can replace him in the lineup. Either Arias or fellow rookie Brayan Rocchio. Both have played shortstop before, and both have shown a nice defensive edge to their game.

Yet, if you’ve been listening to fans on Twitter recently, you’d know that it was Arias and not Rocchio, they want to replace Rosario with. And that would just be a massive mistake.

Amed Rosario is still the Cleveland Guardians’ best option at shortstop

Make no mistake, Rosario isn’t a great hitter, at least this season. He’s average at best, but that also means he’s better than Arias, who is anything but average. While you can thumb your nose down at Rosario’s production, you’d be a hypocrite if you didn’t do the same to Arias’ stat line as well.

For as bad as Rosario is, Arais has been worse, with splits of .169/.246/.254 and an OPS of .500. He’s got only one home run, one RBI, and six walks while striking out 29 times. Rosario is striking out 29% of the time, while Arias is striking out 49% of the time.

If Rocchio becomes reliable, steady, and a player you can trust, sure, trade Rosario. But if you want to trade Rosario so Arias can get more reps, then it’s time to rethink your strategy.