Cleveland Indians: 5 potential in-house replacements for Francisco Lindor

Gabriel Arias – Highest Level: A+

The highest graded prospect that came over in the Clevinger deal, Gabriel Arias is the presumed double play partner of the future for Freeman in the middle infield for the Cleveland Indians. Until then, both are candidates to fill the role left behind by Francisco Lindor.

Listed as the Tribe’s No. 6 prospect, Arias was one of the more intriguing pieces received from San Diego. While not always regarded for having the hottest bat, Arias found some pop in A+ during the 2019 season, increasing his slash line to a career best .302/.339/.470 over 120 games. He was also able to club 17 home runs and swipe eight bases.

Of the bunch we’ve looked at, Arias has technically been the worse in the field with a .935 fielding percentage at A+. That isn’t awful, but it also isn’t the level that we’ve come to expect from the position.

While the potential is high for Arias, there is still a lot of work to be done. Eventually, he will hopefully be turning double plays with Tyler Freeman at Progressive Field, but there is no rush to get there. He might be given a few opportunities upon Lindor’s departure, but the mass appearances are most likely going somewhere else.