Gabriel Arias Continues Rehabbing, Flashes Flexibility With Outfield Assignment

Arias has not played in months, having gone down with a lower-body injury in early April when the Guardians were back home at Progressive Field.

Apr 6, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians shortstop Gabriel Arias (13) fields a ball during the fourth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images | David Dermer-Imagn Images

It has been a long time coming, but Cleveland Guardians infielder Gabriel Arias is beginning to trend in the right direction.

Following months on the injured list, Arias is expected to make his return to the major leagues in the near future. He has been rehabbing with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers for the past few weeks, appearing in five contests since the start of June.

But on Thursday, June 11, Arias ended up playing at a different spot in the field.

Instead of playing either shortstop or second base, two positions he has sported the most amount of time at across his nine-year career in major league baseball, the 26-year-old was thrusted into right field.

Such a decision doesn't just come out of nowhere, but shows that the organization has carefully crafted his return to the big league squad. They want flexibility in the big-league lineup, and Arias being able to spend time in the outfield allows them to return him to Cleveland without hindering the full-time nature of Brayan Rocchio's and Travis Bazzana's involvement.

Since going down with his injury, both Rocchio and Bazzana have taken big leaps in their games, breaking out at the plate.

While for some organizations, this type of situation would cause the front office to either move on from the player or stash them in the minor league system, practically halting their trajectory moving forward, Cleveland wants to find new ways to keep Arias involved.

Just a few weeks back, when attending one of his monthly scheduled press conferences, President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti shared that the Guardians want to see players down in Triple-A grow more defensively. He wants to see them be dynamic and able to play various spots on the field, making them much more valuable.

"We've seen that the more positions guys can play, capable, the more chances they have to impact us up here," Antonetti said. "So we just don't know where those opportunities are going to come from, so we try to help guys play a number of positions in Triple-A and prepare for that."

Alongside Arias, both highly-touted prospects Cooper Ingle and Ralphy Velazquez, two players who are primarily infielders, have also received time out in the open grass.

While it has not yet been confirmed whether or not Arias' move to the outfield is a long-term option, even seeing him there once shows that the Guardians are doing their due diligence on a guy who is stuck in a difficult situation.