San Francisco Giants: Is it Time to Send Christian Arroyo Down?

Here we take a look at whether or not now is the time for the San Francisco Giants to send Christian Arroyo back to Triple-A.

I’ll admit that I was all on board for calling up Christian Arroyo when the San Francisco Giants did. And I still believe it was the right call. However, as he’s hitting just .193 in May with 22 strikeouts, it may be time to send the youngster back down.

You don’t won’t to ruin the kid’s developmental process, but you also don’t won’t him to get discouraged.

When the Giants called Arroyo up they were in desperate need of a spark on offense. Arroyo delivered that spark immediately and has given the Giants some big hits.

Even with his low batting average in May, he’s tied for the team lead in RBI this month with 10. That’s why I find this situation so difficult. He can put together some good at-bats, but when you look at his stats as a whole you see he’s really struggling with major league pitching.

The biggest problem with sending Arroyo down right now is there is no one to replace him with. Once Hunter Pence comes back I think you can end him down, but I think the kid is safe until then.

I know people expect 21-year-old kids to come up and light the world on fire these days, but that’s not typical.

Arroyo has gotten a taste of the big leagues and proven that he can hold his own. He was called up originaly because he was the best option available. If he’s no longer the best option available, then it’s time to send him back down.

Arroyo can take the things that he’s learned in the big leagues and work on them in a more controlled environment in Triple-A.

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He’s proven a lot to me during his time in the big leagues. I was not one that thought Arroyo could become an every day player. I thought he would be a super utility guy at best. But he’s shown that he can handle third base defensively, and he’s shown he’s not afraid of the spotlight in the big leagues.

To me, a demotion for Arroyo doesn’t mean he can’t handle the major leagues. In fact, I think he’s proven that he can do everything a big league player needs to do.

I just think if you’re going to send a kid like this back down, now is the time to make the move. He’s still very young and needs time to mature. He can do that at the major league level, but it would just be easier at Triple-A.

This is not necessarily a call out to send Arroyo down, just opening up the discussion as I think it’s now or never. You either send him down to try and let him get his confidence back, or deal with the struggles as he tries to figure it out at the major league level.

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I’m just not sure the San Francisco Giants are in a position to let a 21-year-old figure things out in the big leagues. They need to win, just like when they called Arroyo up, if there is a better option available, the Giants need to go a different direction.

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