CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Cleveland Guardians made a lineup change prior to Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees.
Gabriel Arias will start at first base and bat 7th in the Guardians lineup Saturday night.
Manager Terry Francona said he opted to play Arias at first instead of Josh Naylor, who is in the Guardians lineup as the Designated Hitter.
Francona said Naylor jammed his ankle in the Guardians 4-2 win in extra innings on Friday in New York. Naylor woke up Saturday with some soreness in the ankle, but the club also had some concerns about his lateral mobility and opted to go with Arias at first base because of his defense.
“He has been taking balls out there every day. The reports were very good. He is inexperienced there, but he's a pretty good fielder,” Francona said. “There's some unknowns there, that's for sure. I think there's a lot of unknowns with our team.”
The rookie, who normally played shortstop or third base when inserted into the lineup, had no idea he would be inserted into the lineup at such a critical point in the series until he arrived at the Guardians clubhouse Monday afternoon.
” I didn't look at the lineup, my mindset was just to get ready to help if needed,” Arias said. “At some point, Demarlo (Hale) came to my seat and started asking me how I was feeling and if I was ready to play defense. He told me be ready to take some grounders at first because you’re playing first.”
For Arias, there was one person who immediately came to mind when he learned he would be starting.
“The first thing I thought of was my granddad, he was the one who got me into baseball,” Arias said. “One of my goals was to make it to the Major but also to play in this type of game.”
Arias’ grandfather passed away 11 years ago but is still a prominent fixture in his life. He keeps a golden cross that his grandfather gave him in his locker, symbolizing his continued presence.
Despite a lack of experience at first, Arias isn’t concerned with making the transition. Francona joked before batting practice that third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh had a few hours to give Arias a crash course.
“I feel really comfortable in comparison to the other infield positions,” Arias said. “I feel the challenging thing for me is to always know the proper distance to get back to the base.”
Naylor hasn’t offered any tips yet, despite making some spectacular defensive stretches in the Wild Card round. Arias made one start in the regular season at first base and has gotten a handful of work at the minor league level.
“I don't think this moment is going to overwhelm him, he looked more excited anything,” Francona said.