McAdam: Late in the season, Christian Arroyo stakes his claim

It has been, by his own admission, a "weird'' season for Christian Arroyo.

It began with him as a member of the Cleveland Indians, his third organization in the past four seasons. And it's winding down with Arroyo being given the opportunity to claim the second base job with the Red Sox.

Arroyo was claimed off waivers from the Indians by the Red Sox on Aug. 13, but had to endure a long COVID-19 protocol period, then wait for a roster opening. He didn't play his first game for the team until last Tuesday when he was recalled from the team's alternate training site in Pawtucket.

In short order, however, Arroyo has made his presence felt. In five games, he's collected five hits, including homers in each of the last two. On Saturday, he briefly broke a tie in the seventh inning and gave the Sox a one-run lead that they quickly relinquished.

On Sunday, his two-run shot in the sixth proved to be more impactful, stretching the Red Sox lead from one run to three in their 6-3 triumph over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Following the decision to option Jose Peraza to the alternate training site mid-week, manager Ron Roenicke has said that Arroyo will get the vast majority of playing time at second the rest of the way. In a small window then, Arroyo has gone from being on waivers to an opportunity to nail down a starting position for 2021.

"It really hasn't set in,'' he admitted.



Rather than being overwhelmed by the opportunity in front of him, Arroyo is concentrating on the details he needs to be successful at the plate.

Arroyo is appreciative of the change he's being given, but is doing his best not to put too much pressure on himself. For that matter, he's determined to not place too much emphasis on how many hits he gets.

"It sounds cliche,'' he admitted, "but I really believe in trusting the whole process of getting to a spot where you'll see results. I'm right around 20 at-bats (for the season) and I take out of every game the (times) that I had quality at-bats, good swings on pitches and where I felt I was balanced and everything was working. I try to take those as wins for the day -- not necessarily (the amount of hits).

''My thing now is just finding barrels. Baseball's tough -- you're trying to square up a ball and sometimes the hits fall and sometimes they don't. So it's really just competing, having good at-bats AB to AB, going pitch-to-pitch and being process-oriented and not worrying too much about results.''

Arroyo has been working with hitting coach Tim Hyers and assistant hitting coach Pete Fatse in the cage pre-game, trying to improve his balance and working to put himself in position to see pitches.

"It's nice to see it's translating,'' he acknowledged. "After looking at some video of when I was going good and when I was going bad. I get good hip rotation -- that's really never been an issue of mine. But the only (negative) of that is kind of getting really 'spinny' on the ball. I have a tendency to do that. So for me, it's really working on direction, staying direct to the middle of the field.

"And the other thing is recognizing, your movement may have been good, but it's not a strike, what do you expect? So it's been really good getting instant feedback and having guys really focusing on your at-bats and it's good to see it working.''

Arroyo comes with some pedigree. He was a first-round selection of the San Francisco Giants in 2013. After his debut in 2017 with the Giants, he was still regarded highly enough to be the centerpiece of the deal which sent former Tampa Bay franchise icon Evan Longoria to the Giants.

Injuries mired his stay with the Rays. But he remained on the radar of Chaim Bloom, who helped put together the Longoria trade when he was with the Rays. Given a chance to grab him again last month, Bloom couldn't resist. Arroyo is happy that he's now playing for someone who has some history with him and believes in him.

Having a big series at Tropicana Field has made his brief time with the Red Sox all the more special. Arroyo grew up in the greater Tampa area, a fan of the original Devil Rays. He remembers watching his hometown team do battle against the Sox when names like David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia dotted the Sox roster.

Now, as a member of the Sox, he's back at the Trop, with a big two-homer weekend and a chance to turn around his career.

"It's kind of surreal to be honest,'' he acknowledged. "I'm thankful for the opportunity and I kind of just want to take it and run with it, just keep playing good baseball, keep working on stuff and keep getting better.''