Edwin Arroyo joins Reds but two September call-up decisions still remain

September gives the Cincinnati Reds two extra roster spots, and it’s fair to say that the answer is already sitting in Louisville. Edwin Arroyo was just promoted to take the spot of the injured Ke'Bryan Hayes, and Graham Ashcraft should take the extra bullpen spot, assuming his elbow handles the final outing on his rehab schedule.

That still leaves the Reds with one more position player to promote once the calendar flips to September, with either Leo Balcazar or Juan Brito — both of whom are already part of the 40-man roster — likely to get the call.

The modern September expansion grows rosters from 26 to 28 and caps pitching staffs at 14. It’s pretty fair to say Cincinnati has a cleaner answer than most teams when deciding how to use those two spots.

Edwin Arroyo has played his way into Reds' September plans

When they optioned Arroyo on July 30, the logic was sound. He slashed .244/.286/.282 with a  .568 OPS and no homers in 44 games. Sending him back to Triple-A gave Arroyo room to reset.

Arroyo did exactly what a young player in his position should do. He’s played his way back into the conversation. From August 1 through August 26, Arroyo hit .265/.359/.500 for Louisville. He collected four doubles, four homers, nine RBI and four steals in 19 games.

Arroyo also moved around the infield playing at second base, shortstop, and third without making an error. The bigger test remains his double-play pairing with Elly De La Cruz upon his return, and September offers a month to get the answer.

The worst thing to do here is to call him up to be dugout décor. He should be given some runway. Give him starts around the infield, put him beside Elly again and find out whether the game has slowed down. 

Graham Ashcraft's rehab assignment clears path for Reds return

Ashcraft is the other side of this equation. His name disappeared from the daily conversation because he has been on the 60-day IL since late May with a right UCL sprain. Before the injury, he had become a legitimate bullpen weapon posting a 3.33 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 27 innings across 26 appearances. The bullpen finally gave his power arsenal a job that fit.

The righty began a Louisville rehab assignment Tuesday and worked around one hit and one walk to throw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. He’s scheduled to take the mound again on August 30. If that outing goes well, the calendar is practically filling out the transaction card for Cincinnati: activate him September 1 and use him as the extra pitcher.

The Reds are on the outside looking in when it comes to a NL Wild Card spot. They’re pretty much at a distance where September should produce information for the winter. Arroyo gives Cincinnati a month to examine a key piece of its infield future. Ashcraft gives the club a chance to see whether one of its best relievers can finish healthy and reclaim his late-inning role.

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