This story was excerpted from Mandy Bell¡¯s Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

It¡¯s time to close out the infield.

Over the next few weeks leading up to Spring Training, we¡¯ll go position by position to break down each area of the Guardians¡¯ roster. We¡¯ve knocked out catcher, first base, second base and shortstop. Let¡¯s tackle an easy one: Third base.

Projected starter: Jos¨¦ Ram¨ªrez
I think we can eliminate the word ¡°Projected¡± here. It seems like this guy has earned his starting role without having to compete with too many people this spring.

Ram¨ªrez has taken a lot of pride in improving his defense to match the skills that he obviously brings to the team with his bat and on the bases. He¡¯s determined to add his first Gold Glove to his sparkling r¨¦sum¨¦. He¡¯ll also be looking to pick up his fourth Silver Slugger in the past six seasons.

From 2022-24, Ram¨ªrez has been as consistent as the Guardians could¡¯ve asked for. He hit .280 in ¡¯22, .282 in ¡¯23 and .279 in ¡¯24. His OPS went from .869 to .831 to .872 in that span, as well. He logged at least 36 doubles in each season, with at least 24 homers. Two of the three years resulted in 100-plus RBIs. And if Game 162 wasn¡¯t rained out last year, we may be talking about how he¡¯s coming off of a historic 40-40-40 season (instead, he had a 39-39-41 season, which I guess is OK, too).

Undoubtedly, the desire for a 40-40 season will fuel him again in ¡¯25 after coming so close last year. As long as the Guardians can figure out how to get proper protection behind him in the lineup after trading away Josh Naylor, Ram¨ªrez could make another exciting run once again.

The backups: Gabriel Arias, Daniel Schneemann, Tyler Freeman, Angel Mart¨ªnez
The Guardians value defensive versatility as much as anything else. It¡¯s the reason the same four names will continue to pop up as backups for each position across the diamond.

Depending on who wins the starting second-base job, someone could fall out of this list, but clearly, Cleveland has options. The Guardians have tried to work in more DH days for Ram¨ªrez as he¡¯s gotten older to make sure he stays fresh without losing his bat in the lineup. So any of those options could play third base on those days.

Question to answer: Is there enough protection behind Ram¨ªrez?
The Guardians traded away Naylor and replaced him with free-agent first baseman Carlos Santana. Naylor may not have been as consistent last year as he was the previous season, but he added power, which is something this lineup is always in need of. His threat was enough to provide much-needed protection for Ram¨ªrez, which helped him in his pursuit of a 40-40 season. Now that falls on the shoulders of soon-to-be-39-year-old Santana.

Santana showed signs of regression from 2021-23, but last year, he bounced back. He batted .238 with a .748 OPS, 23 homers, 71 RBIs and 26 doubles, while winning his first career Gold Glove Award. Was last year the fluke? Did he discover something to help him get back on the right track? Will it be enough to be a cleanup hitter in this lineup and help Ram¨ªrez see decent pitches? It¡¯s hard to know.

Who else is in the Pipeline?
Guardians¡¯ No. 4 prospect Angel Genao (High-A Lake County) and No. 23 Alex Mooney (High-A Lake County)