Thursday, 11:22 a.m. PT: I am being told, at this time, that Arroyo "just had a day off yesterday." Of course, we will see what transpires over the next few hours as the Mariners get ready to play the Dodgers again.

Thursday A.M: Earlier this week, it was reported that the Seattle Mariners are at least considering a big league promotion for top 100 prospect Michael Arroyo.

That speculation was further fueled on Wednesday when Arroyo did not start for the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, and when he was reportedly seen hugging people inside the Rainiers dugout.

I admittedly did not see this first hand, but social media users reported seeing it. Usually "hug watch," refers to a potential trade and someone leaving the organization, but in this case, I think it more likely points to a possible promotion for Arroyo.

Ranked as the No. 40 prospect in the sport by MLB Pipeline, Arroyo is still just 21 years old. Signed as an international free agent in 2022, he's hit at every spot he's been in, posting a .287 average at Double-A Arkansas this year - a notoriously tough place to hit. He also had 10 home runs for the Travelers before a promotion to Tacoma, where he's hit .324 in 16 games with three home runs and six doubles.

Two reasons:

1) The Mariners are in need of all offensive help they can find.

2) The M's are in particular need of right-handed hitting.

Seattle enters play on Thursday at 29th in baseball in team batting average (.230), tied for 28th in slugging percentage (.379) and tied for 27th in OPS (.688). They rank near, or at the bottom, of most categories against left-handed pitching, necessitating the need for a right-handed bat.

Could the Mariners make a trade for a right-handed bat? Maybe. We've talked about Taylor Ward and Heliot Ramos, but with Casey Schmitt and Spencer Steer now injured, there are certainly complications in the market, making things highly competitive.

Should there be a lockout next season that causes games to be missed, it's fair to note that the minor league season will still happen. However, players on the 40-man roster of a team cannot play in the minor league season.

As a result, there's a reason to keep Ryan Sloan in the minors for the rest of the year: To allow him to still play and develop next season in the event of a truncated major league season.

Arroyo has to be put on the 40-man roster this offseason anyways and will be ineligible for minor league baseball in a lockout, so there's no developmental reason to hold him back. If he's ready to help this team, he should be called up.

And it looks like he might be.

The latest 'Refuse to Lose Territory' featuring ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney is out now. You can listen here, or you can watch in the YouTube player below.