Gabriel Arias' time in Queens is already over. The Mets designated the infielder for assignment, clearing a 40-man roster spot for Christopher Morel, who got the call up from Triple-A Syracuse.
This one moved fast even by DFA standards. New York claimed Arias off waivers after Cleveland cut him loose ahead of the trade deadline, and he barely got settled before the Mets moved on. He appeared in just 2 games in a Mets uniform and went 0-for-5 at the plate before getting the news.
Arias came up through the Guardians organization after being acquired in the 2020 trade that sent Mike Clevinger to San Diego. He logged over 1,100 plate appearances in Cleveland from 2022 through this season, but the bat never played — a career.218/.274/.358 line with a 34.3% strikeout rate and particularly ugly numbers against lefties. The glove is versatile, capable of playing multiple infield spots, but that wasn't enough to hold down a roster spot on a team managing its bench down the stretch.
Now Arias heads back into DFA limbo. He's out of minor league options, which is the real complication here — if another club claims him, he has to go straight onto their active 40-man roster, no Triple-A stopover allowed. If he clears waivers instead, New York can outright him to the minors. Either way, it's a shaky spot for a 26-year-old who's bounced twice in a matter of weeks.
For the Mets, this is a straightforward numbers game. Morel gives them another right-handed bat with more offensive upside than Arias showed in his brief window, and swapping in a fresher option is a low-cost move as New York shapes its roster for the stretch run. Expect Arias's name to keep popping up on waiver wires around the league in the coming days.