Cleveland Guardians utilityman Gabriel Arias is playing winter ball in Venezuela.
His stint with Tiburones de La Guaira has been marked by two circumstances: one, his offensive prowess, and two, his mediocre defense.
Let’s start with the former.
Arias has only played four games with Tiburones, but he has nine hits in 15 at-bats and 17 plate appearances.
Six of those hits have gone for extra bases: four doubles and two home runs.
He also has seven RBI and is hitting .600.
His glove, however, has been suspect for the lack of a better word; as Guardians Prospective, who covers the team’s minor leagues like few others, points out.
“Cleveland #Guardians (SS) Gabriel Arias has gotten off to a tremendous start offensively for his club @Tiburonesbbc_ in the Venezuelan Winter League hitting .600 with 6 XBH and 7 RBI’s over his first four games. However, Arias has struggled mightily on defense at shortstop committing 2 more errors tonight and now has a total of 6 errors over the same time span,” he posted on X.
Cleveland #Guardians (SS) Gabriel Arias has gotten off to a tremendous start offensively for his club @Tiburonesbbc_ in the Venezuelan Winter League hitting .600 with 6 XBH and 7 RBI's over his first four games.
However, Arias has struggled mightily on defense at shortstop…
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) November 21, 2024
Yes, nine hits in four games is impressive.
However, six errors in the same span is absolutely worrisome for the Guardians as an organization.
The sample is incredibly small, yes, but the sheer total jumps to the eye.
Arias covered every infield (except for catcher) and outfield position in 2024, but wasn’t great at shortstop, which is supposed to be his natural home.
He committed a single fielding error there in 117 MLB innings this year, but registered -2 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS).
He did have two Outs Above Average (OAA) at shortstop, but given his winter league performance so far, questions about his glove are starting to resurface.
Granted, we don’t know about the quality of the infields he is currently playing in, but some prospect evaluators worried about his defense when he was rising through the ranks.
Perhaps it’s just a blip, but the Guardians might want to pay close attention to Arias’ defense from now on.
NEXT: Emmanuel Clase Finishes Third In Cy Young Race, Surprise Guardians Rookie Ranked Ninth
