Reds get Juan Brito from Guardians at deadline

Brito peaked as a prospect in 2024 before missing much of last year. He made his major league debut back in April, but he hit .177/.250/.255 in 56 plate appearances then, and he’s come in at a middling .237/.351/.394 with diminished exit velocity numbers in Triple-A this year. He’s still just 24, so some team might take a look at him. It hurts his stock that he’ll be out of options next year.

Brito is down, Travis Bazzana is up. Brito struggled in his 51 at-bats with the Guardians as seen in a .176 average and .505 OPS. The 24-year-old is considered one of the better hitting prospects in Cleveland’s system, and he should get another shot at some point this year.

This is now the second straight game that Hoskins has started on the bench. The veteran is hitting .214/.353/.357 with a 28 percent strikeout rate and just one home run. Hoskins still has an 11 percent barrel rate, but he’s not pulling the ball as often as before. Perhaps he just needs to warm up. Jose Ramirez will DH on Wednesday with Daniel Schneemann at third base and Juan Brito at second base.

Brito broke the game open with a two-run double off of Trevor Rogers in the fifth inning that extended the Guardians’ lead to 4-0. He struck out in each of his other three plate appearances in the ballgame — including with the bases loaded and zero outs in the eighth. For the season, the 24-year-old infielder is now slashing .184/.244/.263 with zero homers, three RBI and a 12/3 K/BB ratio in his first 40 plate appearances.

Arias left Monday’s game with the injury and was put on the injured list on Tuesday. The Guardians updated his timeline on Wednesday after further evaluation, and it will be a long absence for the 26-year-old. Juan Brito will continue to start in the middle infield in Arias’ place.

Brito was called up Tuesday by the Guardians, and he made an immediate impact. The 24-year-old laced a double for his first MLB hit, and he added a single for good measure. The 24-year-old will likely handle second base with Gabriel Arias on the injured list due to a hamstring issue, and he’s worth monitoring in AL-only formats. It’s hard to see mixed-league relevance for now, however.

Brito was called up earlier in the morning with Gabriel Arias (hamstring) landing on the IL, and he will be right into the starting lineup. He flashed 20-home run power in the minors, but that doesn’t feel sustainable at the MLB level, so he can be avoided in fantasy leagues for now.

Brito was 11-for-35 (.314) in Triple-A this season with five doubles, five runs scored, and four RBI. Injuries limited him to just 31 minor league games last year, but he hit .256/.365/.443 with 21 home runs and 13 steals in 144 games at Triple-A in 2024. His quality of contact numbers are not great, so we wouldn’t expect much power in the big leagues, and Brito remains more of an AL-only type of fantasy asset. It will be his MLB debut when he gets into a game.

Brito, 24, had a rough time at the plate during Cactus League play, hitting just .154 (4-for-26) with a homer and six RBI. Stephan was always facing an uphill battle in a crowded bullpen mix for the Guardians, but he should get an opportunity at some point during the 2026 campaign.

Brito’s case was pretty obvious, but this is actually a second straight extra option year for Valera. He never used one in 2025, though, since the Guardians non-tendered him and then re-signed him to a minor league contract. He finally made his major league debut in September and performed well enough overall to keep himself in the Guardians’ plans for 2026. However, now there’s no pressure on the team to save room for him on the Opening Day roster. The Guardians will still have Nolan Jones, Jhonkensy Noel, Brayan Rocchio and Gilbert Arias as out-of-options players, which could make it more difficult for C.J. Kayfus, Angel Martínez and maybe Daniel Schneeman to make the team, depending on how the rest of the offseason goes.