Edwin Arroyo's grip on the Reds lineup suddenly looks far less secure

It was more of the same for the Cincinnati Reds during Tuesday night's 2-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Terry Francona's club made too many mental mistakes at critical points during the game, and while Jose Trevino was the only Reds player charged with an error, Edwin Arroyo was at the center of multiple defensive miscues.

The first came during the top of the third inning when Arroyo backed up on a chopper to second base off the bat of Brewers' outfielder Blake Perkins. The Reds' rookie fielded the ball cleanly, but his throw to first base was way wide and Perkins reached base safely. After the dust had settled, however, catcher's interference was declared, and Arroyo's error was wiped out and charged to Trevino.

Arroyo's second mistake came during the fourth inning when a hot-shot off the bat of Brice Turang swallowed up the Reds' second baseman. He misplayed the ball which allowed the runner at first to advance to third on the play. Reds starter Nick Lodolo, who exited early following a comebacker off his wrist, was able to wiggle out of the jam and the score remained tied at 0-0 to end the inning.

While Arroyo drew the start at second base on Tuesday night in place of Matt McLain, it's a good bet that he'll find a seat next to Francona on the bench for Wednesday's series finale against the Brewers. McLain will likely retake his spot at the keystone as Cincinnati's brass attempts to decipher how to handle having three capable second basemen on the roster.

Reds optioned Will Benson in favor of keeping Edwin Arroyo on the roster

Cincinnati made an expected, though somewhat controversial move, before Tuesday's game. The team optioned Will Benson back to the minor leagues in order to activate Elly De La Cruz from the IL. While Benson's role had been severely diminished in recent weeks, keeping Arroyo on the active roster will surely limit his playing time with both De La Cruz and McLain ahead of him on the depth chart. And don't forget about Spencer Steer.

If Tuesday's game was any indication of the type of defense fans are going to see from Arroyo, it won't be long before he joins Benson in the minor leagues as well. Not only has Arroyo's glove failed him, but he's hitting just .226 with a .552 OPS following his June 1 promotion to the big leagues.

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