Edwin Arroyo was spared by viral moment vs. Mariners but the Reds still have a problem

The reaction from Caleb Ferguson to what should have been an inning-ending play might be trending on social media, but Cincinnati Reds fans have much bigger concerns. Edwin Arroyo — whose calling card coming up through the minor leagues was defense — has left a lot to the imagination during his first month in the big leagues.

The play that drew the ire of Ferguson came during the seventh inning of the Reds' 8-0 blowout loss to the Seattle Mariners on Monday night. With a runner on first base and two outs, Victor Robles hit a chopper back up the middle to the left side of second base. Arroyo ranged to his right in an attempt to make the play, but umpire Bill Miller collided with the Reds' second baseman and the ball trickled into the outfield.

Arroyo can hardly be blamed for the miscue, but his defense at the keystone has been highly questionable. Unfortunately, he was also at the center of another defensive mistake during the eighth inning with the bases loaded.

A ground ball to second base — which should've turned into an inning-ending double play —was bobbled by Arroyo. He recovered and flipped the ball to Elly De La Cruz for the force play at second, but another run scored.

To be fair to the rookie, he came up through the Reds' farm system as a shortstop. Arroyo logged nearly 400 games at shortstop during his time in the minor leagues, compared to just 32 at second base.

But with De La Cruz entrenched at shortstop and Matt McLain on the injured list, Arroyo has been entrusted to take over at second base. He's now appeared in 34 games at the keystone, including 28 starts, but has already committed three errors.

Fielding percentage may not matter as much as it used to 20 years ago, but one can hardly be pleased when a middle infielder owns a .973 FLD%. The advanced metrics are split on Arroyo's performance. He's been worth -3 defensive runs saved (DRS), but 4 outs above average (OAA).

Reds manager Terry Francona defends Edwin Arroyo in postgame interview

After the Reds' 8-0 loss to the Mariners, manager Terry Francona was asked about the play in question and but didn't really have an answer. When he was pressed about Arroyo's defensive shortcomings and the inability for his middle infielders to turn double plays, Tito came to the defense of his players.

"It didn't help (the lack of turning double plays)," Francona said. "Elly's had a couple balls where he's had a tough time transferring it. And then Arroyo, but that was late (in the game). For us to play the baseball we want, we got to not just not make errors, but we've got to finish plays."

Francona has preached playing "clean baseball" since he was hired as the team's manager in 2025. During Francona's tenure, the Reds have been middle of the pack in terms of errors (140) and rank 16th in OAA (2) and 24th in DRS (-36). That's not exactly the gold standard Reds fans were hoping to see, and Arroyo's shortcomings haven't helped.

When asked whether or not Arroyo's poor play defensively could snowball going forward, Francona responded, "I hope not."

Arroyo's done nothing that would give the Reds reason to prioritize his playing time once McLain returns from the IL. In fact, it wouldn't be surprising to see him optioned back to the minor leagues when McLain is declared full-go.

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