Former SF Giants 2013 top pick joins Milwaukee Brewers on a minor league pact

Early on Thursday morning, the Milwaukee Brewers bolstered organizational infield depth. According to multiple reports, former SF Giants 2013 top pick Christian Arroyo agreed to join the Brewers on a minor league deal. This includes a camp invite.

Former SF Giants 2013 top pick joins Milwaukee Brewers on a minor league pact

Robert Murray of FanSided reported the financial details, confirming that Arroyo's base pay would be $1.5 million with up to $500,000 in incentives if he is added to the major league roster.

There was a time when the Giants believed that he would be the infielder of the future. Perhaps, the expectations were a little unfair given that he was following an infield alignment that consisted of Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, and Brandon Crawford. All had been drafted by the San Francisco and played a role in the organization winning three World Series titles in five years.

Arroyo was drafted out of high school, so he made more of a deliberate ascent up the minor-league ladder. He was called up as a 22-year-old prospect early in the 2017 campaign after tearing up Triple-A pitching. However, as we have seen time and again, Triple-A production does not always translate to major league success.

In fairness to Arroyo, the Giants got off to a horrendous start that year and it felt like the middle infielder was promoted to help salvage the season. Of course, that last detail did not come to fruition as the Giants won only 64 games that year.

Arroyo posted a .548 OPS in 135 plate appearances before being sent back down. Development is never linear and the Giants hoped that the right-handed bat would improve with more minor league seasoning. However, he never got a second look as he was shipped to the Tampa Bay Rays in a five-player move to acquire Evan Longoria after the 2017 season.

Over the years, the 28-year-old has proven to be a s serviceable utility bat. Second base is his best position, but he can capably fill in at shortstop and third base as well. He has spent the past four seasons with the Boston Red Sox, but he was outrighted off of the 40-man roster after going unclaimed on waivers in August. The righty bat struggled to the tune of a .638 OPS in 2023, but tallied a respectable .716 OPS overall in a Red Sox uniform.

The Brewers are usually very good at finding value in the margins of free agency. Arroyo has some track record of success, so it would not be surprising to see him carve out a role with Milwaukee in 2024.