Cleveland Guardians' Gabriel Arias will be sidelined longer than initially expected.
At the beginning of April, Cleveland Guardians shortstop Gabriel Arias was placed on the injured list after suffering a hamstring injury on a cold day at Progressive Field.
The moment Arias suffered the injury, it looked serious. He gingerly walked to the dugout from second base and grimaced in pain. It wasn’t surprising in the slightest when Arias landed on the 15-day injured list a few days later.
The initial timetable for his return to the field was set at four to eight weeks.
Unfortunately, Vogt shared on Friday, ahead of Cleveland’s series opener against the Minnesota Twins, that the original timeline is no longer on the table and that Arias hit a slightly set back in his recovery.
"Gabby is gonna be a little bit longer," explained Cleveland's skipper. "He hit a little snag... Gabby, definitely, his rehab got slowed down."
Apr 6, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians shortstop Gabriel Arias (13) grabs his leg after sustaining an injury running to second base after hitting a double in the fifth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn ImagesWith how much sliding and movement Arias does at shortstop, it’s entirely understandable that a hamstring injury could have lingering effects on his overall defensive performance, which is his biggest strength on the field, too.
The other disappointing piece to this is that Arias looked like he’d finally turned the corner in some of his offensive woes, and he played a key role in helping the Guardians get off to such a hot start and shock all of baseball with their 4-3 opening road trip.
In 30 at-bats, Arias had hit two well-timed home runs and a double. He was also noticeably much more patient in the box, something that has been a weakness for the right-hander in the past.
While Arias remains on the injured list, Brayan Rocchio will continue to get starting reps at shortstop, and Travis Bazzana will see the majority of playing time at second base. That duo up the middle was likely going to be the future alignment for the Guardians anyway, but it's still an unfortunate circumstance as to how Cleveland got here.
Once Arias does return from injury, Cleveland will have some decisions to make, but the primary goal is getting the infielder healthy.
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