The Cleveland Guardians have seen mixed results from their utilityman Gabriel Arias in winter ball this year.
On one hand, the offensive growth he has shown since he was demoted from MLB to Triple-A Columbus has been astonishing and has carried into the winter season during his stint with Tiburones de La Guaira in Venezuela.
The bad news is that his defense continues to let him, Tiburones and the Guardians down.
Cleveland #Guardians (SS) Gabriel Arias went (1-4) for @Tiburonesbbc_ in the Venezuelan Winter League Thursday night but committed two more errors at shortstop. On offense Arias is hitting .381 with 10 XBH and 12 RBI’s over his first 11 games. Defensively it’s been a struggle as he now has committed 8 errors over the same time span,” Guardians Prospective posted on X.
Going up through the minor league ranks, Arias’ fielding abilities hadn’t caused similar issues as the ones he is currently going through.
He is probably not a Gold Glove candidate or will be one anytime soon, but he hadn’t struggled to this extent.
It’s hard to make any conclusions without judging the state of the fields and the diamonds there in Venezuela, but Cleveland is probably at least mildly concerned by now.
It’s not all bad, though; and the organization is probably very happy with his offensive surge.
He has accumulated doubles and home runs in bunches ever since he set foot in Venezuela.
He has a 74 wRC+ in the majors in 191 career games, but his 130 mark in Triple-A this past season is a good omen for the future.
If he can at least offer an average glove all over the field, Arias can give his bat a chance to get him a role in Cleveland.
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