3 Cleveland Guardians who have stumbled out of the gate who may not be able to recover

2. Gabriel Arias

Once in the mix for the starting shortstop position, Gabriel Arias has since been relegated to the bench as a utility player. Arias has not done much in his limited opportunities to prove that decision was a mistake, as he has struggled to do much of anything at the plate.

With just two hits in 13 at-bats, Arias has more than justified the decision to go with Brayan Rocchio as the Cleveland Guardians' everyday shortstop. Interestingly enough, Arias has only struck out two times so far (15.4%), which is half the frequency of his career average strikeout rate (31.7%) and is far less than his projected averages for the season.

The performance at the plate from Arias is what everyone should really expect. Arias has a career slash line of .205/.278/.341. It would be one thing if Arias was able to show a long-lasting rate of success in the minors, but he has mostly struggled after hitting 29 doubles and 13 home runs with a .284/.348/.454/.802 over 115 games with the Columbus Clippers in 2021.

Do not expect Arias to be thrown on the scrap heap any time soon, however, as he does have the ability to hit for some power. Arias hit 15 doubles and 10 home runs in 2023, and considering the lack of overall power in Cleveland's lineup, that could be more than enough to keep him on the major league roster.