It didn’t take very long for the Cleveland Guardians to promote a middle infielder to the major leagues this season. Unfortunately, it was based on an injury to someone else rather than an overwhelming performance in the minors, and the player who is arriving may not be the one most fans were anticipating.
With shortstop Gabriel Arias headed to the injured list with a hamstring issue, the Guardians have called up Juan Brito to take his place on the roster. Now, it won’t take long for Brito to see his first major league action.
Details have emerged about Brito’s MLB debut, which will come Tuesday afternoon when he bats sixth and plays second base against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field.
“Juan Brito will start at second base and bat sixth in his MLB debut this afternoon,” Zack Meisel posted on X.
Juan Brito will start at second base and bat sixth in his MLB debut this afternoon. https://t.co/hh1hfr45F3
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) April 7, 2026
Arias was injured while running out a double in the fifth inning of the series-opening game against the Royals on Monday. He was replaced by Daniel Schneemann, who took over at second base with Brayan Rocchio moving to shortstop to finish what became a 4-2 loss.
Rocchio will likely become the everyday shortstop, while Brito and Schneemann could split time at second base. Arias had started 10 of the 11 games at shortstop this season, with Rocchio starting 10 at second base.
Brito was primarily playing third base at Triple-A Columbus, with six starts there and one at second base over nine games. He has an impressive .314/.405/.457 slash line with five doubles and four RBIs.
It is worth noting that Brito was called up ahead of Travis Bazzana, who has been the regular second baseman at Columbus so far this season. However, Cleveland’s No. 1-rated prospect is batting just .212 in his eight games, so the organization likely chose to be more patient with him, while also considering his MLB service time.
Brito had a chance to make the Guardians out of spring training, but the switch-hitter batted just .154 with a .582 OPS in 13 games played. However, he picked up his offense with Columbus and earned the right to make his MLB debut.
It is unknown how long Arias will be sidelined, so if Brito performs well, he may be sticking around in Cleveland for a while.
NEXT: Guardians Make Big Jump In Latest Power Rankings
