5 Cleveland Guardians that must improve with Steven Kwan out of the lineup

Gabriel Arias

Another member of this Cleveland Guardians team with staunch supporters without having a ton of positive results. Gabriel Arias. 

Arias is another player who could see his usage increase following Kwan's injury. The problem with Arias is, like the previously mentioned Estevan Florial, the idea of what he could be as a player is significantly better than the on-field results. 

Slashing just .233/.253/.356 with four doubles, one triple, and one home run, Arias has struggled to make much of a positive impression in the early going. Not helping matters is his 32.% strikeout rate and 75 OPS+, both being very close to his career averages (32.1% and 76). 

While it must be stated that the amount of playing time Arias has received and being deployed at multiple positions is not helping his offensive performance, at some point, these just become excuses and not reasons. The fact of the matter is that Arias would be a lineup regular if he was not routinely an offensive drain. Arias would be locked into one position if he was head and shoulder better than every other option. But the reality is that he is neither, and it appears that he is destined to be a bench/utility player, seeing time a few times a week in multiple spots rather than an everyday starter.

With Kwan out of the lineup, Arias should have a few more opportunities to prove he is better than he has shown thus far, and it would be very welcome if he could. It just does not seem all that likely, considering his track record and overall performance.