Gabriel Arias is finally starting to reward Guardians’ faith in him

On June 22, Gabriel Arias had arguably the worst game of his career when he went 0-for-5 against the Chicago White Sox with five strikeouts. 

In fact, it was so bad manager Stehen Vogt gave him a quasi benching afterward where he appeared as a defensive replacement in two of the Guardians’ next three games along with sitting one out entirely. 

At the time, his batting average sat at just .192, and it seemed like he had reached the end of the road with his time with the Guardians. 

But a funny thing has happened in the time since: Arias has started to look like a bonafide MLB player. Not a toolsy player who always teases you with his potential; an actual legitimate player who has had success on the diamond. 

In the 16 games Arias has played since that horrible showing against the White Sox, he’s posted a .300/.349/.525 slashline with three home runs, five RBI and three steals. 

Gabriel Arias is in the midst of the best stretch of his career 

The first sign that Arias had turned things around came a little less than a week after his game against the White Sox when he hit a towering 429 foot home run to left-center field on a curveball that Chris Paddack hung over the middle of the plate. 

That kind of swing wasn’t a huge surprise for Arias given his well-known power potential, but the problem with his game has always been consistency. 

After an 0-for-3 showing in Cleveland’s next game, he racked up hits in back-to-back games before hitting a three-run home run against the White Sox — once again on a breaking ball over the plate. 

He closed out his time before the All-Star Break by going 5-for-12 in the final three games including a three hit game against the Marlins and a home run against the Twins. 

It’s arguably been the most productive stretch of Arias’ career, and it couldn't have come at a better time for a Guardians team that’s still adjusting to life without José Ramírez. 

A productive Arias would go a long way toward helping the Guardians continue to tread water while Ramírez works his way back from his hand injury. 

Arias seemed to struggle with the added pressure of joining the roster as the corresponding move for Ramírez going on the injured list, he’s done better as he’s settled into his roster spot. 

He’s always been able to wow everyone with his arm (82nd percentile arm strength, 3 Out Above Average) and the occasional powerful swing, but that always took a backseat to his high strikeout rate. 

That swing-and-miss is still there (he also racked up 15 strikeouts over that 16 game span), but his production at the plate has made up for it. 

Arias may never be the everyday player that everyone expected him to be when the Guardians traded for him in 2020, but the past two-plus weeks have shown why Cleveland’s front office continues to give him chances even amidst his struggles. 

If he’s able to keep it up, there could be room for him on the roster once Ramírez comes back.

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