GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Nearly everyone has reported to Guardians camp and the team hopes to officially be underway with practices by Tuesday. Let’s look at seven (and a few more) players to keep an eye on over the next 3 1/2 weeks until Opening Day:

OF/1B Josh Naylor
Naylor is returning from a gruesome right leg injury last season that required surgery to repair fibula fractures and ligament tears. Over the weekend, he took ground balls at first base and showed no signs of pain while blasting homers in batting practice. But his lower leg is wrapped with medical tape in two places and he still appears to be favoring it while running. He’s expected to meet with the media Monday to explain what his path forward will look like. With that said, his progress over the next 22 days will be important for the team.

RHP Shane Bieber
Bieber reported to camp Friday and threw his first bullpen Saturday without any issues. He missed three months of the regular season last year with a right shoulder injury and was able to return in September for two three-inning outings. After an offseason of being able to get himself back into a regular groove, he’ll be one of the top hurlers to keep an eye on in camp to make sure he’s ready to lead the pitching staff again in 2022.

RHP James Karinchak
Karinchak wasn’t the same reliever we saw in 2020 or at the beginning of '21 by the time the end of last season rolled around. After his third blown save of the year on July 22, he watched his ERA escalate from 2.91 to 4.14 prior to his last appearance, bookending getting sent to Triple-A Columbus on Aug. 28. He spent time throwing bullpens, working on his mechanics and figuring out what went wrong in the second half of the year while in the Minors.

The team will need to know if Karinchak was able to right the ship in his time in the Minors and over the offseason to once again be a force at the back end of the bullpen alongside hard-thrower Emmanuel Clase.

1B Bobby Bradley
Bradley could have a lot to prove in 2022. He forced his way onto Cleveland’s roster last season after a powerful display in the Minors. But his 99 strikeouts in 74 games with a .208 average and a .739 OPS (99 OPS+) wasn’t exactly what the club was hoping for out of the left-handed slugger.

The hope is that Bradley can be another force in the lineup, joining Franmil Reyes and José Ramírez. On a roster that desperately needs some pop, the team would be able to better stomach a high strikeout percentage from a big hitter who could simultaneously provide an above-average OPS. Over the next few weeks (and throughout the beginning of the season), Bradley will need to prove he’s found more consistency at the plate to keep his everyday first base job.

LHP Anthony Gose
If they’re healthy and consistent, a trio of Gose, Karinchak and Clase at the back end of the bullpen will be tough to beat. Gose has the chance of having one of the best stories in the Majors if he can continue to pound the strike zone. The MLB outfielder-turned-reliever is a flame-throwing lefty who’s struggled with command during his time in the Minors. But each year, he’s shown steps of improvement and walked just two batters in six appearances after getting the callup to the big leagues late last season. Because he’s out of options, the Guardians proved their optimism in his development when they kept him on their 40-man roster over the offseason, despite needing to find spots for 11 prospects to protect from the Rule 5 Draft. Now it’ll be up to Gose to use the next few weeks to earn his spot on the Opening Day roster.

3B Nolan Jones
Can Jones bounce back? That’s the only question the former top prospect for the Guardians will need to answer in camp and early in the 2022 season. It was nearly impossible not to have high hopes for Jones as he came up through the system from '16-19, but after a year at Cleveland’s alternate training site during the pandemic in '20 -- and while balancing attempts to become more versatile by getting repetitions in the outfield -- he had a down year in ’21, hitting just .238 with a .787 OPS and 122 strikeouts in 99 games with Triple-A Columbus.

All the middle infielders
Let’s group everybody into one category. The Guardians have too many middle infielders on their current 40-man roster and will need to figure out who will stay and who will go: Amed Rosario, Andrés Giménez, Owen Miller, Yu Chang, Ernie Clement, Tyler Freeman, Brayan Rocchio, Gabriel Arias, Jose Tena and Richie Palacios all will attempt to prove their value.

Rosario was one of the more reliable bats the team had in 2021. However, he could easily be used as a trade chip to bring back a corner outfielder. And the trio of Freeman, Rocchio and Arias will have no problems drawing interest from outside organizations. The team will need to determine if these three can all remain part of its future (along with Giménez) or if one or two of them would need to be used in a trade. Regardless of who it is, the plethora of middle infielders will need to show their worth in the limited time they have this spring.