Cincinnati needed infield depth after Ke'Bryan Hayes went down with a groin strain, so the Reds turned back to one of their top prospects just before Friday's game against the Cubs.
The Cincinnati Reds placed third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes on the 10 day injured list Friday, retroactive to Thursday, with a left groin strain, and recalled infielder Edwin Arroyo from Triple-A Louisville to fill the roster spot.
The move came together fast enough that Cincinnati had Arroyo back in the clubhouse before first pitch at Wrigley Field, even though he was not part of the starting lineup for the series opener against the Cubs.
Arroyo Gets Another Shot at the Majors
Arroyo turned 23 this week and has already had one look at the big leagues this season, and it did not go smoothly.
He hit just .244 with a .286 on base percentage and a .282 slugging mark across 44 games and 131 at bats before Cincinnati sent him back down on July 30th, striking out 31 times against only five walks with zero home runs.
The demotion seems to have done him some good.
Since returning to Louisville, Arroyo has hit .265 with a .359 on base percentage, a .500 slugging mark and four home runs, even though he is still chasing pitches out of the zone more than teams would like.
The switch hitting infielder is expected to see real playing time down the stretch as Cincinnati sorts out who fits its plans heading into next season.
Suárez Slides Over While Hayes Heals
Hayes' absence pushes Eugenio Suárez back to third base.
Suárez only avoided a bigger shakeup of his own a few days ago, when he and outfielder TJ Friedl cleared outright waivers and stayed with the organization instead of getting scooped up by another club.
With Cincinnati sitting nine games back of a wild card spot, decisions like these carry more weight as an evaluation than as a playoff push.
Trade buzz around Tyler Stephenson has followed the same theme all week, with the front office already thinking about next year's roster even as this one keeps playing games that matter only to the players in the room.
Friday's Game
The opener at Wrigley Field went pretty well for Cincinnati.
Sal Stewart put Cincinnati back within a run with a solo home run in the top of the fifth, his 29th of the season and further proof he belongs in the middle of this lineup no matter what happens with the veterans around him.
Rhett Lowder worked five innings for Cincinnati and allowed three runs on six hits, striking out five without issuing a walk, while Chicago starter David Peterson matched him with a similar line on the other side, five innings and two runs allowed.
The Reds had pulled away by the middle innings, but a series opener like this one usually gets decided by whichever bullpen holds up better late.
The bullpen bent but didn't break and gave Cincinnati a big 10-8 win in the opener.
Arroyo's own numbers will get a fresh chance to grow from here, and how Cincinnati uses him over the next month should say plenty about where he stands in the organization's long term plans.
