NEW YORK \u2014 It\u2019s time for the Cincinnati Reds to call up Edwin Arroyo. They should play him a couple of days a week at second base, a couple of days at third and then take advantage of the chances that will come up to put him into the game off the bench. <\/p>\n
Arroyo wouldn\u2019t be playing every day. Having a prospect be an every day player is typically the best approach with top prospects, and the most obvious reason why Arroyo hasn\u2019t been called up yet is the lack of an available every day role (there are also skills that you\u2019d like to see him continue to develop and improve).<\/p>\n
Calling up Arroyo as a role player would give the Reds a chance to see if he\u2019s ready to stick as an every day player and see just how real his progress in Triple-A has been. He\u2019d strengthen the Reds\u2019 depth in some important areas where they\u2019re lacking. And this plan wouldn\u2019t mean that the Reds would be giving up on Matt McLain. <\/p>\n
It makes sense to make the move now with McLain in a slump, with Eugenio Suarez\u2019s starts in the field being managed after the time that he missed coming back from an oblique injury and with the Reds lacking any infield depth. <\/p>\n
Noelvi Marte and CES in 2023 and Sal Stewart in 2025 are examples of how it can help your roster when you call up a prospect to simply play a role instead of taking a full-time starting position. <\/p>\n
The Reds\u2019 lineup is pretty good right now, and it doesn\u2019t need saving. McLain is good enough for this to still be a winning lineup with him as a part of it hitting ninth. He has a case as the best defender and the best base runner on the team. His power and speed make this a different situation than the Reds were dealing with with Ke\u2019Bryan Hayes before Hayes went on the IL.<\/p>\n
McLain is too talented of a player to give up on by simply replacing him with Arroyo. It\u2019s not the right time to have that conversation.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s also been two-plus years since McLain has been an impact player in the big leagues. It\u2019s alright for there to be some competition. The last two seasons have had an odd trajectory for McLain. He\u2019ll struggle. Then, he\u2019ll start to lose a bit of playing time and someone like Spencer Steer will make spot starts at second base. Then, with McLain under some more pressure, he\u2019ll have a really encouraging week or two and show some promising signs as the \u201csurvival instinct\u201d kicks in (he talked about this in spring training). When it starts to feel like McLain is figuring things out, he\u2019ll go into a terrible slump. <\/p>\n
This has happened several times, including over the course of May. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe were talking about that today,\u201d Terry Francona said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if I have a good reason. Believe me, if I did\u2026 I agree with you. He\u2019ll show you signs. When he does, then it kind of falls back. If I had a better answer, I\u2019d give it to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the plate, it feels like McLain doesn\u2019t have a wheelhouse. What is the pitch that he crushes? What is the area of the plate where you can\u2019t leave a pitch against him? What are the great matchups for him? <\/p>\n
He looks like a hitter who needs some more confidence. He\u2019s searching and pressing. This week, it\u2019s been really interesting to watch him spend time with Mike Napoli. They spent an entire half-inning having an in-depth conversation on Monday. On Tuesday, Napoli coached McLain one-on-one through some early batting practice. <\/p>\n
Francona said the key for McLain is being on time to produce his \u201cA-swing.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cAt times, mechanically, he\u2019s having a hard time being on time,\u201d Francona said. \u201cHe\u2019s a little late. It\u2019s hard to get your A-swing when you\u2019re late. It\u2019s hard to have good mechanics when the ball is getting up on you because you\u2019ve got to adjust just to try to get to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
A few times this year, Francona has been asked about sticking with McLain in an every day role. The manager has raved about the way that McLain impacts the game on defense and on the bases. He speaks about his belief in McLain at the plate. <\/p>\n
Recently, he brought up an example from the 2004 Red Sox in an answer about McLain. <\/p>\n
In 2004, Mark Bellhorn was slumping in the playoffs. The fans and the media were clamoring for Pokey Reese to play more. But Reese was a defense-first player. Playing Reese because you\u2019re chasing offense would be backwards, Francona said. <\/p>\n
He ended the story there. But it felt like the metaphor he was making was that McLain was Bellhorn in this scenario \u2014 the talented hitter without a better offensive option behind him. <\/p>\n
Arroyo is a defense-first prospect (he might just be a better fit as a super utility player), and McLain is actually a better defender than Arroyo is, and McLain\u2019s offensive ceiling is much higher. <\/p>\n
There are plenty of reasons to keep playing McLain, and one that\u2019s flying under the radar is that he\u2019s still performing pretty well vs. LHP. At some point down the road though, there will be a competition between the two of them.<\/p>\n
Now would be a good time to see what Arroyo can bring to the table. <\/p>\n
Look at the Reds\u2019 bench: TJ Friedl, Will Benson, Dane Myers and the backup catcher. The bench has three center fielders on it, and two of them are left-handed hitters who aren\u2019t offering you enough right now at the plate to pinch-hit over one of the Reds\u2019 starters on a regular basis. Outside of platoon piece\/late-game defensive replacement Dane Myers, the bench right now isn\u2019t very usable. Friedl has three plate appearances over the last seven days, and Benson has two. <\/p>\n
Arroyo would give the Reds a different look. And because of the versatility of Spencer Steer and Sal Stewart, you could mix and match configurations in the infield to get Arroyo involved for regular at-bats at different positions. <\/p>\n
He could start over McLain against a tough righty (Arroyo has pretty decent splits and is much better against righties). Su\u00e1rez is coming off of an injury and had a short rehab assignment, so he\u2019s on a bit of a load management plan right now and could use days off here and there. You could take Nathaniel Lowe out of the lineup for a day, move some pieces around and create a spot for Arroyo. <\/p>\n
And then some days, Arroyo wouldn\u2019t be in the lineup. He\u2019d be the left-handed bat off the bench (he\u2019s a switch hitter but is better versus RHP), and he\u2019d be the backup infielder ready to enter the game when needed. Francona would have some more options as he manages the game with the depth of a true infielder on the bench. <\/p>\n
The gap between Triple-A and MLB is so huge right now. The only way to really know what you have in Arroyo is giving him a chance in the big leagues. It\u2019s also probably too early to just hand a full-time starting position to him, which is why making him a part of a rotation to see what you have makes sense. <\/p>\n
He still has a lot that he needs to improve at \u2014 specifically a consistent approach at the plate. It\u2019s about swinging at the right pitches, being at his best pitch-to-pitch and proving that his power surge in 2026 is real. There are reasons why he\u2019s not ranked as a blue-chip prospect by various outlets. He also has room to improve defensively. He\u2019s a glove-first middle infielder who\u2019s still learning third base. <\/p>\n
In the long run, Arroyo will have to show in the big leagues that he can be more than a role player. He\u2019ll have to earn a starting job. By calling him up now, he could start trying to play his way into that. <\/p>\n
Plus, the competition could help McLain get going. <\/p>\n
The ideal situation for the Reds would be the competition bringing the best out of McLain, and Arroyo helping out the Reds\u2019 bench. <\/p>\n
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