CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Gabriel Arias is viewed as one of the key pieces to the Cleveland Guardians future, and the team is making sure he gets plenty of playing time.
Arias was back in right field and hitting eighth after playing Sunday afternoon at shortstop, his natural position. The plan is to bounce him between positions to keep him in the lineup.
“He’s an elite defender pretty much wherever you put him,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said prior to Monday’s series opener against the Detroit Tigers. “I mean, his arm is just, he’s got that true arm that you don't see that a ton anymore, and it plays from every position. Just really gifted defensively. And there's a ton in there offensively. We haven’t seen it yet, at least at this level, but it’s there.”
The Guardians see elite defender potential in the 23-year-old Arias and believe he is athletic enough to handle two positions defensively.
“Typically guys that play up the middle are among the more athletic and defensively capable players on the roster,” Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. “I mean, if you just go watch a little league game or a high school game, those are usually some of the best athletes. So it usually leads to additional versatility.
“It’s not the case for every shortstop, but Gabby is really a gifted defender on the infield, and we felt like his skills could also transition to other positions and he’ll get those opportunities now or at least some of those opportunities in the outfield, and I think his biggest challenge will be to try to stay ready as both an infielder and an outfielder.”
Arias has appeared in 22 games to date this season and he carries a .205 average, which includes three extra base hits and he’s driven in one run. But his offense is not something the organization is not overly concerned about at this point.
Will Brennan, who has played in 28 games and is hitting .183 with five extra base hits and 10 RBI, got the night off.
“Some of it depends on how they play,” Francona said. “I mean, I really don't know that between he and Brennan, if one of them gets hot, you never want to be the cooler. But we're trying to just do what makes sense and try to make sure, especially our young guys, they get at-bats.”
On time – Charging hitters a strike for failure to be in the box is part of baseballs new speed up rules implemented this season.
Sunday afternoon Twins first baseman Alex Kiriloff, who had just smashed a foul ball deep down the right field line, was called out on strikes to end the top of the fourth inning for violating the new rule.
Francona isn’t sure if there’s a happy medium to relax some of the new pace of play rules to give hitters and pitchers a few extra seconds between pitches.
“If there was a way to have your cake and eat it too, that would be good,” Francona said. “I'm not smart enough to figure it out. So [we] just try to abide by the rules. I know [Cam] Gallagher did a good job [Sunday] because [Emmanuel] Clase was 3-0, and he didn't look like he was ready to pitch. Now we walked him anyway, but he did a really good job of being aware.”
Catching up – The Tigers roll into town on the Guardians’ heels, just a half game behind Cleveland in the AL Central standings.
Detroit has won five of their last seven series while the Guardians ended a five series skid by beating the Twins 2-0 Sunday to take the final two games of the series.
“I think they feel pretty good about themselves right now,” Francona said. “They’ve been playing good and they beat us in that doubleheader. The way we’re going right now, I don't think it matters who we play. We just need to take care of what we take care of, and normally if we do that, we're okay.”
Give Fry a try – David Fry, called up May 1 from AAA Columbus, is set to make his first big league start at first base Monday evening.
“We need to play him and off a guy that's been kind of carving up these [hitters], it seems like a good day and I didn't want to go much longer,” Francona said.
Fry’s only action since being called up was as a pinch runner for Josh Bell, who he is hitting behind in the fifth spot, against the Yankees May 1.
Remembering Vida Blue – Francona remembers how dominant Vida Blue, who passed away over the weekend at the age of 73, was in his heyday.
Francona always has a story or a connection to the game’s greats and his with Blue goes back to when he was a pre-teen.
“When I was 11, 10 or 11, he was pitching for the Oakland, we had to do a project where you sent to a company and you had to have somebody write back to you,” Francona said. “So I wrote to the Oakland A’s, because that's where my dad was playing and I got Blue Moon Odom and Vida Blue and Catfish Hunter to send me picture postcards. I think that’s like the only time I ever got an A in that class.”
Francona ended up facing the former left hander in the majors a few times too.
“I can say I got a couple hits off Vida Blue,” Francona said. “He wasn’t [in his prime then], that was 20 years later, but it's a cool name.”
