Mets claim ex-Guardians 26-year-old infielder after trade deadline

The New York Mets gutted a large portion of their big league roster at the MLB trade deadline, parting with plenty of veterans in deals amid a sell-off.

They did add some players to the big league roster after the deadline, and recently, they've just made another addition, and this one is a bit intriguing.

According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, the Mets have claimed former Cleveland Guardians 26-year-old infielder Gabriel Arias off waivers following the trade deadline.

Mets claim recently DFA'd ex-Guardians infielder Arias

"The Mets claimed infielder Gabriel Arias off waivers from Cleveland," Sammon reported Friday afternoon.

Arias is 26 years old and has played in the big leagues across the last five seasons, all with Cleveland. He struggled a bit through 2024, but in 2025 and even in 2026, he began to figure things out.

This season in 42 games, Arias was hitting .244 with a .669 OPS and 87 OPS+ with five home runs, 11 RBIs, four stolen bases, and 0.5 bWAR.

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Last season in 129 games, he posted 1.1 bWAR with 11 home runs and eight stolen bases with a .220 batting average and a .638 OPS and 76 OPS+.

Arias might not be an instant game-changer for the Mets, but he's an intriguing dart-throw on a young player who shouldn't hit free agency until after the 2029 season.

If he can turn his career around with the Mets, they could have an interesting young player around for a while that can play at shortstop, second base, third base, first base, and maybe even some outfield if needed.

Arias is a worthwhile flyer for the Mets to take a chance on, and is exactly the kind of player they should be looking to add going forward for the rest of the season.

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