Inside Juan Brito's Journey to the Cleveland Guardians' Major League Roster

Juan Brito will get his chance to impress at Progressive Field.

But it came at the expense of an injured list stint for infielder Gabriel Arias, who just seemed to be turning a new corner in his production at the plate.

On Monday, April 6, infielder Gabriel Arias ripped a double into right field, and as he rounded first and turned towards second, it seemed that he had hurt something in his lower body. After making it to first, he would be taken out of the game, with manager Stephen Vogt confirming later that he had suffered an injury to his hamstring.

Now, in his place, the Cleveland Guardians have called up the 24-year-old Brito for his major league debut. He will play second base and bat sixth in the Guardians' lineup on Tuesday, April 6, in a matchup against the Kansas City Royals. The two sides will play at 1:10 p.m. EST.

In a corresponding move of calling up Brito, the Guardians have placed Arias on the 10-day injured list.

Brito's Path to the Bigs

Throughout his time in the minor league system, Brito has consistently been providing the Guardians with solid hitting.

In his first year of real minor league action, back in 2022, the Colorado Rockies' front office, which had him at the time, placed him in Single-A, where he excelled. He slashed .286/.407/.470 for an OPS of .877, with 29 doubles, six triples and 11 home runs in nearly 500 plate appearances. He flashed speed and power, all while being consistent at the plate.

He wasn't striking out a lot either, drawing 78 walks to 71 strikeouts.

The following campaign, after Cleveland acquired him, they said "why not?" and let him run the show.

He would play so well that he jumped from High-A Lake County, all the way to Triple-A Columbus by the end of the season. He finished the 2023 season averaging .271 from the plate with nearly 50 extra-base hits.

While he primarily spent time at second base and shortstop the previous year, 2023 is where the Guardians decided to start testing him at third base as well. The team wanted to see if he could become an all-around infielder.

Then, in 2024, all while batting really well at a clip of .256 across 144 games played, he started spending time at first and right field as well, strengthening the argument that he could do just about anything a coaching staff would ask of him. This also made it much more convincing for the Guardians to eventually give him a big-league nod. No matter what they could need defensively, Brito could, in theory, do it.

In 2025, he suffered a couple of bumps in the road due to injury, but in 2026, he showed signs of growth both at the plate and in the field.

To start Triple-A action, he has nine games played with a strong slashing line of .314/.405/.457 for an OPS of .862. He also has five doubles in the early season.

As long as he can at least temporarily fill Arias' role, the Guardians should be in good hands. He can also shift off of playing second base if the coaching staff feels more comfortable playing him elsewhere, giving him a chance to impress at various spots throughout the field.

Until Arias returns, Brayan Rocchio will likely play the majority of his time at shortstop, presenting another challenge for the Guardians to address.

For now, they can only hope that the recent level of play Arias was bringing to the lineup can be picked up by someone else.

Over the coming days, they have a tough road ahead with American League Central opponents and other top teams in the league.