Former Giants Prospect Christian Arroyo Claimed by Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have added to their infield depth by claiming former San Francisco Giants prospect Christian Arroyo.

The former Giants infielder has been on the move a lot recently as he was traded from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Cleveland Indians before the trade deadline in July of 2019. Now, he is joining the Boston Red Sox.

The Indians recently designated the 25-year-old for assignment with the hopes of sneaking him through waivers, but the Red Sox had a different plan in mind.

Arroyo was originally selected by the Giants in the first round of the 2013 draft out of Hernando High School in Brooksville, Florida.

As he rose through the minor league ranks, the middle infielder appeared on the back-end of several top-100 prospect publications while topping out as the 62nd best prospect in baseball before the 2016 season according to Baseball America.

Christian Arroyo’s Minor League Success

In 7 minor league seasons, mostly with San Francisco, Arroyo posted a .293/.340/.435 with 34 home runs and 257 RBI. The power and plate discipline never fully developed, but he had a knack of putting the bat on the ball as he struck out in only 15 percent of his plate appearances.

He forced his way onto the Giants roster in 2017 after slashing a .396/.461/.604 line with Triple-A Sacramento. However, as we have seen with many prospects, his minor league success did not immediately translate to major league performance.

In his rookie campaign, the right-handed bat posted a meager .192/.244/.304 (44 OPS+) with only three home runs and 14 RBI. He was sent down shortly thereafter, and his 2017 season ended on the shelf following a wrist injury.

Despite the struggles, Arroyo did get to experience that cool moment that not every professional baseball player gets to see:

Little did we know at the time, Arroyo would not appear with the Giants again.

Christian Arroyo is Traded

Arroyo was traded away along with Stephen Woods, Matt Krook, and Denard Span to the Tampa Bay Rays in a move that brought third baseman Evan Longoria back to San Francisco.

Despite being the center-piece of the trade and a top prospect at the time, Arroyo did not see much of the field with the Rays organization.

Across two seasons, the right-handed bat posted a .243/.322/.388 line (93 OPS+) in only 116 plate appearances. The Rays had a surplus of middle infielders on their roster and Arroyo found himself on the bubble by 2019.

Rather than designate him for the assignment, the Indians and Rays swung a trade to send the middle infielder to Cleveland. His time there was brief as he only appeared in one game without even recording a plate appearance before hitting waivers.

Arroyo may have landed in the right town to prove his worth as the 6-13 Boston Red Sox have struggled to start the year. Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts are firmly entrenched on the left side of the field, but the Red Sox are light on middle infield depth, especially at second base.

Arroyo’s career has not gone as expected as he was regarded as a top prospect, but the former Giants farmhand may have landed in the right place at the right time.