The Cleveland Guardians continue to have some decisions to make with Gabriel Arias.
The Cleveland Guardians were on the verge of making some tough decisions at the beginning of June, as Gabriel Arias was on a rehab assignment and closing in on a return from his April hamstring injury.
Then, the situation seemingly sorted itself out as Jose Ramirez landed on the injured list, and Arias was activated, taking over at third base in the star's absence.
The prevailing thought was that once Ramirez is healthy, Arias would be the odd man out with Brayan Rocchio at shortstop and Travis Bazzana at second base, and, of course, Ramirez taking back over at third.
Clearly, Cleveland still sees value in Arias with his right-handed bat providing balance to the lineup and his natural power.
Now, with Ramirez healthy, the Guardians once again have an Arias conundrum on their hands with whether or not to keep him on the roster and where he could play on the field.
Part of the problem Cleveland faced when taking Ramirez off the injured list was that they couldn't simply send Arias to the Minor Leagues, with the 26-year-old being out of options.
The choices were either designate Arias for assignment or keep him on the big-league roster; the Guardians chose the latter.
Arias has well over 1,000 plate appearances in his career; his strengths and weaknesses are pretty well-known at this point.
The right-handed hitter is going to strike out and chase at a high rate, but can do serious damage with a high exit velocity when he does make contact with the ball.
The good news for Cleveland is that Arias has been swinging one of the hottest bats on the team over the last few weeks.
In his last 30 games, Arias owns a .276/.315/.471 slash line with five home runs. His 126 wRC+ since the beginning of July ranks fourth on Cleveland's roster in that time (min. 40 plate appearances).
With how scarce offense has been for the Guardians this season, they can simply risk losing a player who's objectively been an above-average hitter over the last month.
Jul 21, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Gabriel Arias (13) fields a ball hit by Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers (not pictured) during the eighth inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn ImagesAnother part of this dilemma, though, is that in order to get Arias' bat in the lineup, Cleveland needs to find him a spot to play on the field.
He isn't getting everyday playing time at second base, shortstop, or third base, and Daniel Schneemann has done a great job defensively as the backup at those positions.
Arias does have experience as a utility player and was even taking some ground balls at first base, so perhaps that could be an option as long as he's on the roster.
Between Arias still having some offensive upside, his hot bat, and ability to move around the field, the Guardians are choosing to keep him around, but the question remains, for how long?
