© Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Guardians Lose Gabriel Arias To Broken Wrist, Brayan Rocchio Recalled
It was an odd scene on Tuesday evening when Gabriel Arias let the bat fly out of his hands on two occasions in his first plate appearance of the night. It's unusual to see a bat come out of the hands of a hitter like this and in the direction of the dugout.
However, it happened twice in a matter of pitches signaling that something was wrong.
Arias was later removed from the game with wrist soreness and Terry Francona said he would get more testing done on Wednesday. Unfortunately, those results came back with the worst possible news.
Cleveland has lost their starting shortstop for the rest of the season with a fractured wrist.
This injury is a tough break for Arias who has played well since becoming the team's full-time shortstop following the trade deadline. There are still a couple of areas he needs to improve at before next year but he'll now spend the first part of the offseason rehabbing instead of developing.
The Guardians still need another shortstop for their final four games and opted to call up another promising middle infielder. Brayan Rocchio was added to the roster and will start for Cleveland at shortstop on Wednesday.
Rocchio has appeared in 20 games and has a .242 batting average with a .574 OPS while making a number of solid plays on defense.
Jun 2, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio (6) fields a ball hit by the Minnesota Twins in the sixth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
The 22-year-old hasn't been seen in a game for Cleveland in over a month after going through a rough stretch at the plate. Yes, it is only four games, but Rocchio has the opportunity to give the front office something to consider throughout the offseason as they figure out who will be their future shortstop.
