Reds Beat: The Time Has Finally Arrived For Edwin Arroyo, And The Reds Need Him To Make The Most of It

CINCINNATI — One star’s bad break is another star prospect’s big opportunity.

That’s one way of looking at Monday’s developments around the Cincinnati Reds.

Wanting no part of a repeat of 2025 when he played through a partially torn quadriceps, the team placed Elly De La Cruz on the 10-day injured list with a mild Grade 1-2 right hamstring strain, sustained in the fifth inning of Sunday’s 6-4 win over Atlanta. In his place, the team finally decided it was time to promote top infield prospect Edwin Arroyo, who was tearing it up at Triple-A Louisville.

Were the two moves directly connected? Only president of baseball operations Nick Krall can fully answer. But before Monday’s game Terry Francona said it was a simple matter of the club needing a middle infielder and Arroyo fit the bill. Arroyo was ripping it up with the Bats, slashing .323/.383/.562 with 11 home runs and 34 RBIs. He had nine steals in nine attempts. He can play three of four infield spots.

“We need an infielder, right?” Francona quipped. “We have to play nine, right? We can’t play without an extra infielder, though. We need to balance, and he’s doing really well.”

Fans have been clamoring for Arroyo’s promotion for about three weeks, since it became apparent he was doing big-time damage to Triple-A pitching and more to the point, the Reds had Eugenio Suarez on IL and Matt McLain and Ke’Bryan Hayes couldn’t produce at the plate. But the real question of whether Arroyo was going to be promoted regardless is now moot. The Reds needed a body and Arroyo, still only 22, fit exactly the demand.

“The message to him was just be you, don’t try to be anybody else,” Francona said, adding that he doesn’t want to overload the rookie with expectations on the first day. “He just got told about three hours ago, so it’s not like he’s been planning and stuff like that. He had a pretty full day. He was packing for a road trip (to Memphis). They were leaving. Now he’s packing for a Major League game and going on a road trip. He’ll be fine.”

How is Arroyo handling it?

“Just try to control what I can first, do my best wherever they put me, and just be open to learn, open for whatever they’ll put on my table.”

The Reds are saying the right things but they need him to come in and play steady but also produce like he was at Triple-A. They need him to be clean in the field and productive at the plate. He wasted no time showing he can handle the defensive side of things in the second inning Monday on a Nick Loftin grounder, sliding far to his left, getting to his feet, spinning and throwing to retire Loftin for the first out of the inning.

The offense, not so much Monday. He struck out three times, twice against Kansas City’s Luinder Avila with a runner in scoring position in the third and the fifth. But he singled for his first career hit with two outs in the ninth and then scored on Matt McLain’s double.

But the Reds feel Arroyo – acquired in the Luis Castillo trade of July 31, 2022 – can handle the responsibility, and then some. Arroyo does, too.

“I think I can do everything, you know, it’s just do it, so whatever they need, I know I can help them. It’s just I just got to go there and do it,” Arroyo said.

Ever since Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo debuted in 2022 and Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz were called up in May 2023, the Reds have enjoyed an immediate boost in promoting their top prospects. McLain, Elly De La Cruz and Andrew Abbott followed in 2023. There was Rhett Lowder in 2024 and Chase Burns and Sal Stewart in 2025. Now the Reds need Arroyo to continue that progression.