With Kwan & Thomas a lock, who fills out Guards’ outfield?

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Guardians manager Stephen Vogt met with local media on Monday and started answering questions about his 2025 roster. What we learned is that there will be a handful of position battles during Spring Training, including in the outfield.

We’ve spent the last few weeks going position by position to bread down each area of the Guardians’ roster. We’ve knocked out the infield (catcher, first base, second base, shortstop and third base), so let’s take a look at the outfield.

Projected starters: Steven Kwan, Lane Thomas and … to be determined?
Kwan is in left field, and he will be the leadoff hitter. None of this is up in the air. This is a guy who’s won a Gold Glove in each year he’s been in the Majors. He flirted with a .400 batting average through the middle of June. He’s added more power to his offensive profile. We can move on. This is a lock.

Vogt explained that for now, the plan is to have Thomas handle center field most of the time. If the team needs help in right field, Thomas can move over and turn center field over to guys like Tyler Freeman or Angel Martínez. But let’s expect Thomas most of the time.

That brings us to right field — a position that currently doesn’t have a designated starter.

“I mean, ideally it’d be great to have one guy, but that’s not who we are, right?” Vogt said.

So, this could be a rotating spot. It seems safe to assume that it will start with Will Brennan and Jhonkensy Noel again. The Guardians turned to that platoon for most of the second half of last season. But Brennan hasn’t been able to hit the same stride that he did when he first came up to the Majors in 2022. If he can’t see consistent success, maybe the Guardians move to a different option.

Or maybe Noel doesn’t pan out the way the team so desperately wants him to. This is a power threat that is so badly needed in a lineup that is now without Josh Naylor. But Noel will have to show some growth. He’ll need to be more selective at the plate and lay off the pitches that made him chase in ’24. If he can do that, he can see more playing time.

The backups: Johnathan Rodriguez, Gabriel Arias, Daniel Schneemann, Angel Martínez, Tyler Freeman, George Valera
Arias/Schneemann/Martínez/Freeman will be determined by who wins the starting second base job. Whoever doesn’t can work their way into the outfield mix.

The Guardians also have Rodriguez, who got a taste of the big leagues last year. In 13 games, he went 4-for-31 (.129) with just a .486 OPS.

Although Valera got hurt in September and then was designated for assignment, he’s now back in the organization and Vogt says he’s healthy enough to compete for a spot this spring. He has yet to make his debut, but after six seasons in the Minors, he may not have much left to prove before he gets a chance.

Question to answer: How long until No. 2 prospect Chase DeLauter is in the mix?
Those other backup options can work, but it’s time for the Guardians to get to the man who used to be their top prospect, according to MLB Pipeline — before Travis Bazzana got in the mix. DeLauter would’ve made his debut last season if injuries didn’t get in his way.

Remember, this was a guy who wasn’t in big league camp last year but played so well that he convinced everyone (even people in the Guardians’ organization) that he was competing for an Opening Day roster spot. He was simply a Minor Leaguer who was asked to work out with the big league guys a few times to get some experience and play the final innings of Cactus League games. Somehow, that morphed into the star of camp.

Homers, RBIs, extra-base hits and a superstar confidence were on full display. It made everyone who saw him excited for his inevitable debut. And now that he’s healthy and had a great showing in the Arizona Fall League, maybe that day is coming quickly.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the Guardians want DeLauter to get some more time in Triple-A Columbus before joining the big league team because of the time he missed last year. It’s just a matter of how quickly he can knock the door down to get his first taste of the Majors.

Who else is in the Pipeline?
Guardians’ No. 3 prospect Jaison Chourio (Single-A Lynchburg)
No. 6 1B/OF C.J. Kayfus (Double-A Akron)
No. 17 Robert Arias (Rookie League)
No. 26 2B/OF Jake Fox (High-A Lake County)
No. 27 Petey Halpin (added to the 40-man roster this offseason)
No. 29 Alfonsin Rosario (Single-A Lynchburg)