Guardians shortstop Gabriel Arias had to be carted off the field with a left ankle sprain during today’s 7-0 loss to the Cardinals. In the third inning, Arias jammed his left foot while sliding to try and gather a Masyn Winn grounder that went for a single, and Arias needed immediate treatment from the club’s training staff in the aftermath. Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt told MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins and other reporters that Arias will undergo an MRI tomorrow, though the good news is that initial x-rays were negative.
More will be known about Arias’ status tomorrow, but it seems like a placement on the 10-day injured list is inevitable prior to the Guardians’ next game on Tuesday. Now in his fourth MLB season, Arias began 2025 in a second base timeshare with Daniel Schneemann, and then assumed starting shortstop duties in mid-May. Arias has +3 Outs Above Average and +3 Defensive Runs Saved over 424 1/3 innings at short this year, helping the Guards with his glove even if he is hitting only .231/.293/.369 over 281 plate appearances. As Stebbins notes, former starting shortstop Brayan Rocchio will probably be called up from Triple-A to handle shortstop in Arias’ absence.
Here’s some more from around the AL Central…
- Speaking of MRIs, Kerry Carpenter will also receive a scan tomorrow after he had to make an early exit from the Tigers’ 3-0 win over the Twins tonight. Carpenter was removed from the game with right hamstring discomfort after hitting a triple in the fifth inning, though he told reporters (including MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery) that his hamstring started to act up earlier in the game when he was playing right field. Detroit doesn’t play Monday so Carpenter will have a built-in day off to heal up, though a trip to the injured list might be a wise idea since Carpenter has been dealing with hamstring soreness for much of the season. Carpenter has a 116 wRC+ and 16 home runs over 280 PA, but his .257/.285/.494 slash line reveals a severe dropoff in his on-base numbers, as Carpenter’s 2.5% walk rate is among the lowest in baseball.
- The White Sox activated Jonathan Cannon from the 15-day injured list today, and the right-hander allowed a run on three hits and three walks (with four strikeouts) over three innings of a start in Chicago’s 5-2 over the Giants today. Cannon missed just short of four weeks dealing with a lower back strain, and he now has a 4.59 ERA over 13 appearances (11 starts) and 66 2/3 innings this season. A third-round pick for the Sox in the 2022 draft, Cannon made his Major League in 2024 and figures to be part of Chicago’s rotation for the rest of the season as the rebuilding White Sox figure out their future rotation. Right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move for Cannon’s activation.