CLEVELAND — Guardians shortstop Gabriel Arias exited Monday night’s series opener against the Royals in the top of the sixth inning.
The 25-year-old appeared to be moving delicately after he struck out to end the fourth inning. Arias whiffed on a four-seam fastball from Daniel Lynch IV up and out of the strike zone and walked slowly out of the batter’s box.
It prompted manager Stephen Vogt to come out of the dugout to check on Arias, though the shortstop remained in the game for the top of the fifth. Angel Martínez entered in Arias’ place in the top of the sixth, hitting seventh and playing center field.
Daniel Schneemann moved from center to second base, and Brayan Rocchio moved from second to shortstop.
It was later announced that Arias had exited with right wrist inflammation for precautionary reasons. In the Guardians’ game vs. the Mariners on Aug. 29, Arias exited early after being hit by a pitch on the same wrist.
Arias (who went 1-for-3 with a single and a run scored before exiting) entered Monday slashing .222/.280/.363 with 10 homers and 48 RBIs in 112 games this season. He has recorded 4 Outs Above Average at shortstop, tied for 11th in the Majors with Texas’ Corey Seager and Colorado’s Ezequiel Tovar.
