Commentary: Gabriel Arias experiment isn't working out quite as planned

In the mysterious case of Gabriel Arias all we can go by is what we have seen, and what we have seen is, at times, unwatchable. A tantalizing peek at a one-time phenom who still hasn't consistently committed to the degree Cleveland had hoped. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking — for Arias, and for the Guardians' decision makers. It's clear that Arias is emotionally drifting, and that his commitment to his team is not exactly what it should be. These things happen in baseball, and they don't always work their way out of it smoothly. That was evident in one of the games against the White Sox in Chicago, when a clearly demoralized Arias, who struck out five times in the game, appeared emotionally vacant. It happened late in the loss to the White Sox. After one of his five strikeouts, Arias, playing third base, tossed a half-hearted throw to first baseman Rhys Hoskins that bounced once or twice on the infield grass before arriving at first base, where the baserunner was easily safe. A clearly annoyed Hoskins appeared to shout something at Arias following Arias' half-hearted throw. The baserunner was easily safe on the play, and Hoskins, clearly fuming at Arias' lack of interest, glared at him. There was a time when Arias was thought to be the Guardians' next big thing, and a very big thing at that. How big? This big: At the time, it wasn't that long ago when the San Diego Padres were willing to trade Mike Clevinger, Greg Allen and a player to be named later, in order to acquire Arias, who at the time was viewed as a big-time infield prospect who was on the radar of many big league teams. Actually, Arias at the time was thought to be the biggest fish in this particular pond. Nevertheless, San Diego traded Gabriel Arias, Austin Hedges, Joey Cantillo, Owen Miller, Josh Naylor, and Cal Quantrill to Cleveland for Greg Allen, Mike Clevinger, and a player to be named later. From Cleveland's point of view, the target was Arias, who was, at that time, an up and coming prospect who had already been spotted on the Guardians' radar. Believe it or not, there was a time, not that long ago, in fact, when the San Diego Padres were willing to trade as many as six prospects to Cleveland, in exchange for one — a prospect named Gabriel Arias. Those people are still waiting, and so are those in the Guardians' front office, not to mention those players who thought they were being traded to Cleveland, or, San Diego. Hey, trades don't always fall into place when and where you want them to. For those scoring at home, that proposed trade actually did take place, but you would never know it today. For all the hype he generated before and after being drafted, Arias is still not a player teams are lining up to try to acquire. He is not even an everyday player for Steven Vogt's bunch. Meanwhile, Owen Miller, Cal Quantrill, Greg Allen and Mike Clevenger, among others, are no longer members of the Guardians. Who is a member of the Guardians? Gabriel Arias, that's who. The phenom who has yet to phenom the way phenoms are supposed to. Gone are Miller, Naylor, Quantrill, Allen, Clevenger and a player to be named later. So it goes, in the mysterious case of Gabriel Arias. He is still property of the Guardians, but his star is not just fading, but fading at warped speed. The question is: does Arias realize it? Does he even care? At one point, this had the makings of a big trade, which would have involved Austin Hedges, Joey Cantillo, Owen Miller, Josh Naylor, Cal Quantrill, Greg Allen, Mike Clevenger and a player to be named later. You don't have to be a math whiz to figure that trade out. What, or who, did the Guardians get in return for the one player Cleveland acquired in the trade? Well, that one player, as you might have guessed, was not Jose Ramirez. Instead, that player going to Cleveland was infielder Gabriel Arias. Well, in that trade, Cleveland got a grand total of one player in return. That's right, ONE. His name was infielder Gabriel Arias, who doesn't appear to be destined anytime soon for a bust in Cooperstown. The most important figure in the draft drama is Gabriel Arias, who now looks like the least important figure in the Mysterious Case of Gabriel Arias. Contact Jim Ingraham at (440) 329-7135 or jingraham4@gmail.com.