Is Gabriel Arias turning the corner offensively?

Before the season began, Cleveland Guardians infielder Gabriel Arias was on the roster bubble. Sure, there was an opening at second base following the trade that sent Andres Gimenez to the Toronto Blue Jays, but there was a reason why the Guardians held a competition for his spot rather than handing it to Arias straight away. Following an anticlimactic competition in spring training, Arias has seen plenty of time for the Guardians, and it appears that he has started to figure things out offensively rather than be the continuous black hole in the lineup he was before 2025.

Granted, it is a very small sample size, but in 13 games, Arias is slashing .286/.354/.524 with three home runs and one double. The 12 hits in 42 at-bats for Arias is a meaningful step forward for someone who has struggled to be consistent at the plate in his young career, and this early season success could be something for him to build on as the year progresses.

Cleveland's current series with the Kansas City Royals has produced some intriguing results for Arias. With five hits in seven at-bats, including home runs in back-to-back games, Arias has been one of the Guardians' better bats against their American League Central division foe and has been one of the primary reasons why they are one game away from sweeping Kansas City.

While his recent stretch at the plate has been positive, the complete opposite was true not too long ago. Prior to this series against Kansas City, Arias was in the midst of a four-game hitless streak which saw him go 0-14 with six strikeouts. This fluctuation between success and failure at the plate is something that has always been and always will be part of Arias' game. It just comes down to how well he can be at limiting the pendulum swinging between being a productive bat in the lineup and being entirely useless in the batter's box, with him ideally landing somewhere in the middle for a longer period than he usually does.

Has Arias figured everything out? Probably not, as he still strikes out far too much while not walking enough (27.1% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate). But for now, Arias seems to be on something of a hot streak, and everyone should enjoy that while it continues because everyone by now knows that an extended cold streak could be waiting to surface at any time.