Edwin Arroyo's slow start leaves the Reds with a tricky situation

We're getting to the point where it's clear that the future is more important than the present for the Cincinnati Reds. The team has been declared one of the league's few clear sellers at the trade deadline, but that doesn't mean that the club is tearing it down to the studs and embracing yet another rebuild.

Instead, Cincinnati appears be focused on trading away veterans on expiring contracts whose future is not with the organization. The Reds hope is to collect some young assets at the deadline before building back up better and more efficiently in order to compete in 2027 and beyond.

That mentality should bring second base into focus, where the struggling Edwin Arroyo needs to prove that he can be a future building block, or give the Reds the clarity to understand that they'll need to consider other options heading into next season.

Arroyo was red hot through 53 games at Louisville, slashing .323/.383/.562 with 11 homers before being called up to replace a then-injured Elly De La Cruz at the beginning of June. However, his .231/270/.279 line as a big leaguer has opened questions as to whether or not he can truly hang as an everyday player and a fixture in the lineup.

With that said, the roadmap for the youngster for the rest of the season should be clear, and it is up to the Reds to make the right choice to ensure they head into the offseason with the necessary information to make the right decisions for 2027.

The Reds must give Edwin Arroyo every opportunity to prove himself

Since we know that the chances of Cincinnati jumping back into the NL playoff chase are essentially nil, it's imperative that the club gives Arroyo every opportunity to turn things around during the second half of the 2026 season.

Matt McLain is going to be returning from the IL soon, and with Ke'Bryan Hayes having returned to action recently, the Reds are going to have a logjam in the infield again shortly. That will force a choice between Arroyo and McLain, with the loser likely getting shipped off to Louisville.

The choice should be clear. As bad as Arroyo's been, McLain has hit even worse this year, batting .190/.293/.328 over 83 games. Dating back to the beginning of last season, McLain has played 225 games with a .210/.297/.338 line. That's more than enough time to prove that, unfortunately, the 2023 version of McLain that was so exciting is long gone.

For Arroyo, there's still time. The youngster has only played 34 games, meaning there's still time for him to turn things around. Giving a 22-year-old without much big league experience as much run as possible on a team going nowhere makes a ton of sense. It could be vital for his development, especially if he's able to bust his slump sooner rather than later and go on a tear to close out the season.

If the Reds fall into the trap of giving the position back ot the veteran in McLain, it will be a grave mistake. He's had opportunity after opportunity to prove himself, while Arroyo has not. If the team is going to rebound from this disappointment, finding out whether or not Arroyo is a young building block is imperative, and that will only happen with a healthy dose of MLB playing time.

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