To say that the Cleveland Guardians have struggled this season would be a massive understatement. They won just nine games in June, all while hitting .206, the fourth-worst average in franchise history.
To add insult to injury, they lost one of their key defensive players when Gabriel Arias had to be carted off the field on Sunday. Now, he’s looking at a stint on the 10-day injured list.
However, that might be a blessing in disguise for this team. It allowed them to recall struggling shortstop Brayan Rocchio, who, according to manager Stephen Vogt, has finally found his groove back.
Stephen Vogt says Brayan Rocchio is back
“The biggest thing for me is that Brayan walked in (my office) and said, ‘I’ve got my confidence back.’ Just before he went to Columbus, Brayan wasn’t himself. He wasn’t playing with the carefree confidence that he has. He’s been doing a lot of good things in Columbus,” Vogt told Cleveland.com.
Sometimes, struggling young players just need to get back to the minors for a brief stint to get their confidence back. Rocchio was struggling mightily at the plate when that happened to him.
He was optioned after hitting just .165 with eight RBIs in 35 games, and after driving his numbers up to .252 with seven home runs and 30 RBIs at Columbus, he might bring the offensive spark this team needed.