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You wouldn't be wrong to consider Gabriel Arias' tenure with the Cleveland Guardians to be a bit hit or miss through his young career. Across 330 games in the major league, his career numbers are anything but pedestrian. He's hitting just .215, has an on-base percentage of just .273, and his slugging is only .358.
The league averages so far in 2026 are .233 for batting average, .316 for on-base percentage, and .389 for slugging. By every metric, his career numbers are below average. Numbers that shouldn't be this low. Arias was one of the more consistent hitters for the Guardians' minor league affiliates. He hit .277 for Triple-A Columbus, the second-best average of his career throughout his time coming up. Only his time in Advance-A, Lake Elsinore, saw him hit better (.302).
It's fair to say that his time with the Guardians has been rather disappointing, considering how good he was coming up through the system. Arias is now out with a left hamstring strain and expected to miss 4-8 weeks. The Guardians have to find a replacement, and so they tapped Juan Brito to fill in. He's a versatile defender who has mostly played second base in the minors and has a solid bat. But can he be an improvement long-term over Arias?
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Brito is a highly touted prospect, ranked 16th in the Guardians system by MLB.com. His arrival seems to suggest that the Guardians may be open to seeing what he can be long-term, and so far, it's looking good. He's off to a hot start for his young Major League career.
Coming into Friday to start the series against the Atlanta Braves, Brito is 4-8 at the plate with two doubles and an RBI. Not bad for a rookie starting off his career against teams like the Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Royals.
Brito's tenure in the minors looks pretty similar to that of Arias, with Brito hitting. 274 across every level of the Guardians minor league system. He did struggle hitting for Triple-A Columbus in 2025, posting a very lukewarm .256. He bounced back to start the 2026 season, however, posting a .316 batting average before being called up. So he may be a bit more polished this season.
While it's too soon to say for sure if Brito is the long-term option at second base over Arias, it is worth pointing out that Brito has a bit more pep to his swing. In 2024, he belted 21 home runs for Triple-A. If Brito can find that kind of power in the Majors, it'll be very hard not to play him as often as possible in the infield.
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