Cleveland Guardians Could Explore Changing Angel Martinez’s Position Once Again

The Cleveland Guardians have a plethora of outfielders jarring for a spot on the 2026 Opening Day roster.

Following a 2025 campaign that saw the Guardians finish the year with one of the worst outfielding units in baseball, they're in need of doing a complete 180. Fortunately, through spring training, the front office and coaching staff have been able to see countless players look sharp due to offseason growth.

With so many players getting better, 2025 starting center fielder Ángel Martínez may end up getting pushed to the side. If that ends up being the case, and he gets jumped by prospects Chase DeLauter and George Valera, the Guardians should consider moving him back to the infield.

Martínez is far too talented to already be forgotten about and given up on.

Angel Martinez sends one 424 feet for a homer! 💥 #GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/rt1GbggI0M
— SleeperGuardians (@SleeperGuards) March 2, 2026

So far, he leads the Guardians in spring training with the most amount of extra base hits, knocking two doubles and two home runs. He currently is slashing .385/.500/.1.000 for an OPS of 1.500, all while keeping a keen eye at the plate with two walks to one strikeout.

The best part is he's doing all of this with limited reps, playing in just six games and receiving south of 15 plate appearances.

He's only had one full season of major league action, with 2026 serving as his second chance to fully adapt to the highest level of professional ball. If Cleveland wants to get the most out of him and avoid already giving up on a talented bat, they should consider switching him back to the position he anchored so confidently in the minors.

His Fielding Play

Throughout his minor league development, the Guardians played Martínez at second base for 185 games, totaling 1,528.2 innings. That's an incredibly high amount of time that he spent at that position, just for him to be tossed into center field by the time he makes the big leagues.

It's not like he was an inefficient second baseman. Across that large volume of innings played, he only committed 20 errors for a total fielding percentage of 97.2%. He contributed 320 putouts and 363 assists on 703 chances.

He also played at third and shortstop, two other spots where he wasn't too shabby. In fact, he only played center field a measly 13 times, right field 12 times and left field twice before getting a promotion to the major league level, where he'd serve in the outfield.

He hasn't been bad in center, putting up a fielding percentage of 97.8% with six errors, but with so many prospects ready to knock down the door and take over, he's a better fit at second.

Currently, the big league second baseman has shifted between three players: Brayan Rocchio, Gabriel Arias and Daniel Schneemann, with the likely long-term player being Rocchio, and the others just short-term rentals.

Martínez could easily hurdle all of them and become a staple next to Rocchio for the 2026 campaign. He would be able to get daily reps and continue to develop as a hitter.

The Major Downside

Now, if you take a deeper look at second, a glaring issue begins to arise.

Moving Ángel Martínez back to the infield would likely block the path for top infield prospect Travis Bazzana to reach the big leagues. Throughout Spring Training and the World Baseball Classic, Bazzana has continued to prove just how impactful he can be both at the plate and in the field. Most recently, he launched a solo home run for Australia during his debut in WBC action.

If the Cleveland Guardians were to shift Martínez back to the infield full-time, it would likely signal that the front office plans to keep Bazzana in the minors for the 2026 season. However, given how strongly Bazzana has been performing and how loudly he’s knocking on the door, that scenario seems increasingly unlikely.

Instead, the front office could shift the path in another direction.

Moving Martínez back to the infield could allow them to manage the roster better, getting him into a position he's most comfortable playing, all while allowing him to boost his stock ahead of a potential midseason deal. Around the league, there are plenty of teams looking to snag a young infielder with a high ceiling, where the Guardians in turn could bolster it's bullpen or add more minor league depth.

This type of move would open the door for Cleveland to promote Bazzana, keep the outfield combination of Chase DeLauter and George Valera intact and get the most out of Martínez.