Edwin Arroyo was added to The Athletic’s top 50 MLB prospects last week. Frank Bowen IV / The Enquirer via Imagn Images
June 1, 2026 Updated 3:28 pm EDT
It’s time for the Cincinnati Reds to see what top prospect Edwin Arroyo’s got. The team promoted the 22-year-old on Monday, while placing star shortstop Elly De La Cruz on the injured list with a right hamstring strain.
De La Cruz exited Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Braves in the fifth inning and afterward said he didn’t expect the injury to be “something bad.” He was scheduled for an MRI Monday morning.
Arroyo, one of four players the Reds received in the Luis Castillo trade with the Seattle Mariners in July 2022, has been knocking on the door to make his major-league debut this season. The shortstop has hit .323/.383/.562 over 53 games in his first taste of Triple-A competition. Last week, The Athletic’s Keith Law added him to his updated list of top 50 MLB prospects. Arroyo was not ranked among the top 100 before the season.
De La Cruz was 2-for-2 with a walk and scored twice on Sunday. He’s now hitting .280/.346/.509 with 12 home runs. He’s had better stretches in his career, but this season has been his most consistent offensively and defensively.
The Reds also selected left-hander Brandon Leibrandt’s contract on Monday and designated right-hander Yunior Marte for assignment. Scheduled starter Chase Burns was scratched on Monday due to an illness, the team announced prior to the game. He will be replaced by Lyon Richardson, who will open what is expected to be a bullpen game. Burns is now scheduled to start on Wednesday instead.
De La Cruz’s trip to the IL will stop his consecutive games played streak at 276. Since the beginning of the 2024 season, De La Cruz has started at shortstop for 372 of the Reds’ 382 games. Since then, second baseman Matt McLain, who replaced De La Cruz in Sunday’s game, has made six starts at shortstop. The last Red to start at shortstop other than De La Cruz or McLain was Garrett Hampson, who made one start at short for the Reds last May against the Kansas City Royals.
Like McLain, Arroyo missed all of the 2024 season following shoulder surgery during spring training. With the Reds having De La Cruz entrenched at shortstop, the organization had sprinkled in starts for Arroyo at second base over the last two seasons and introduced him to third base this season.
Arroyo’s hot Triple-A start coupled with McLain’s lack of production at the big-league level had Arroyo knocking on the door of the big leagues even before De La Cruz’s injury, but the Reds’ immediate need at shortstop certainly precipitated Arroyo’s promotion.
This story will be updated.
Jun 1, 2026
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