The Red Sox placed second baseman Christian Arroyo on the 10-day IL with a right hamstring strain this morning, as noted by Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe. Boston recalled infielder Bobby Dalbec to take Arroyo’s spot on the active roster. No timetable has been announced for Arroyo’s return.
The move continues a series of injury woes in Boston’s infield that dates back to the offseason, when it was announced that shortstop Trevor Story would undergo elbow surgery and miss much of the 2023 campaign. Since then, the Red Sox have traded for Adalberto Mondesi, who has yet to make his club debut, and signed Yu Chang, who was placed on the IL with a fractured hamate two weeks ago after posting a slash line of just .136/.174/.341 in 17 games prior to the injury.
Arroyo, who will celebrate his 28th birthday at the end of the month, has endured struggles of his own in the early going this season, posting a .257/.295/.365 slash line that’s 23% below league average by measure of wRC+ in 79 trips to the plate this season. Recently, he had begun to cede his regular playing time at second base to Enmanuel Valdez, who has slashed a solid .343/.361/.514 (137 wRC+) in 10 games since taking over for Chang on the roster. With Arroyo on the shelf, Valdez should have plenty of runway to make the case for himself at second base going forward in Boston.
Dalbec, 28 in June, figures to serve as the backup infielder behind Valdez and shortstop Enrique Hernandez. Dalbec has primarily played first base throughout his career, though he has experience at all four infield spots. A fourth round pick by the Red Sox in the 2016 draft, Dalbec made his MLB debut in 2020 and got off to a torrid start, with a 151 wRC+ in 23 games during the pandemic-shortened season. Since then, however, Dalbec has slashed just .229/.293/.437 (95 wRC+) with a worrisome 34.1% strikeout rate in 254 games at the big league level.
Yeah like Dalbec is really gonna help at middle infield 🙁
Nick should have mentioned since April 20th Arroyo is hitting .458/.500/.708 for a phenomenal 1.208 OPS
I know Dalbec is a righty, but going with him when David Hamilton has been tearing up AAA and actually plays SS/2B is an annoying choice
I don’t know the answer. Is Hamilton on the 40 man roster? if not, that likely explains it. As for Chang, he had a couple of big hits and played decent to solid short. He definitely was more important in the limited time he played than what the article suggests.
dewey – Of course he is!
mlb.com/redsox/roster/40-man
roiste – Completely agree! It’s awful how they are treating Hamilton, and certainly not in the best interests of the ML team.
I think Hamilton has to show he can stay hot for more than a month. He started off like this last year and then was mediocre for months before finishing hot at the end of the year.
Hamilton has only gotten 124 ABs at AAA. If they really needed him, they bring him up. But they really dont. They have Kike and Chavez, and no open roster spots ATM.
I think you mean Valdez instead of Chavez.
Lol, yeah.
roiste – Hamilton is hitting .311 the highest of his minor league career in a small sample size of games. Dalbec has the great stats for two half seasons in the majors which suggests he has the skill to do it again, he simply needs to perform. His defense is as good or better than Kiki at SS and vastly better than Devers at 3B so the defense argument doesn’t fly if you let the other two butchers play.
Hamilton is a Cora guy. He has a relationship with him so he will get preferential treatment if he is promoted to the majors. Bloom probably is aware of that and if you want to win the last thing you want is more nepotism by Cora. It’s bad enough they have to play a sub .240 life time hitter and the worst 3B in Red Sox history defensively but how many more obstacles need to be created against this over performing team? Dalbec is the smart move. They should play him at 3B not SS but he is flexible enough to play either. He won’t be great but he won’t be worse than what’s there now. His hitting is the key. If he gets hot like so many other players playing way over their skill levels he’s a scary good power hitter. If guys like Arroyo, Duran and Valdez can play well beyond their skills why not Dalbec?
That genius rsmith thinks there’s a Chavez on the red sox he’s probably thinking of Mike Chavis who was traded years ago what a tool
Remove – I mute rsmith so I didn’t get to read it. Good to see nothing has changed with his baseball knowledge!! hahaha
KD – I think I muted him too, because I never see his posts. LOL!
KD – Where do you get two halves from? LOL!! He’s had one, second half of 2021. I don’t think you’d count a .707 OPS the second half of last year.
But hey, if he plays in Hotlanta at least there will be a nice cool breeze whenever he takes his three swing strikeouts. ;O)
I don’t expect Hamilton’s offense to be anything better than average (which would be a great outcome), it’s the defense for me. With Chang and Arroyo out, we’re down to zero healthy guys on the active roster who can actually play shortstop, and that’s a big concern for me
Hurt it running all over Falter
Valdez will get the reps at 2b. for the next few weeks. Longer if he keeps up the good play. Dalbec will be emergency backup, late inning D at first or third, and a bench bat to hit against lefties. Enjoying the heck out of this run they’re on. The remaining month is for the most part against sub .500 teams. Pity that Arroyo can’t seem to stay healthy.
Bob – Glad you have so much confidence in Dalbec defensively and offensively! LOL!!!
I like your optimism, but you must be looking at the wrong schedule. The remainder of the month is not easy at all.
2 road games against the best team in the NL (Braves)
3 road games against the star studded Padres (2 games out of 1st)
3 road games against the loaded with stars Angels (1 game out of 1st)
3 road games against the DBacks (0.5 games out of first)
Only the 6 games against the Cards and Reds should be a cakewalk.
FPG – Don’t be beating up Dalbec. He’s had two excellent half seasons and that means he has the skills just needs the consistency. Those skills rate out better than most of the other Red Sox players that are hot for the moment.
I think having a guy who has done it at the MLB level makes more sense than a guy in the minors because he knows Cora.
KD – I appreciate your loyalty to Dalbec, he’s a good man and so are you.
Did you see the announcers ragging on Cora again yesterday? They didn’t beat around the bush, they said it was stupid pulling Houck and bringing in Bleier to face Schwarber … and they are right, it was!!! They said the game would have gone down to the wire and been winnable if Houck was allowed to stay in the game.
I really do hope Valdez keeps performing. I would love to seem him take over 2nd permanently.
DBH – Does that mean you want Story gone, or do you think he’ll be able to play SS until Mayer arrives sometime next year?
I don’t expect Story to return before the break. When he does return, I would play Story at short until he could be traded for a shortstop, even if is a bad trade swap. If not, then either dh or 1st for Story, trade Dalbec and a prospect for a ss
Story ain’t getting traded any time soon.
Well duh he’s out for probably the season
DBH – I’m surprised you don’t like Story at 2B, he did very well there last year … not counting the weak arm of course, but that doesn’t matter as much at 2B.
His bat plays, most scouting reports worry about his D though.
DBH – I think we all hope what you hope but his numbers don’t suggest that will happen. If he can reverse his trends, it’s possible.
KD – Excellent post!! It’s so true, people forget Story’s numbers have drastically declined across the board for three straight years. Sure he might be able to reverse the trend, but we all know many others such as Panda never did.
Me2 – am thoroughly enjoying it although I wish bloom had traded for a less brittle shortstop. I hope Devers gets hot and pitching stays healthy
Elbo – Maybe it’s because Bloom likes peanut brittle?
Devers is 2nd in MLB in both Homeruns and RBI, and 3rd in Total Bases. I would be very happy even if he just maintains what he’s been doing.
Just wanted to reply and say that Fever Pitch is way off in saying you are “praising” Dalbec. I never got that notion at all, but of course Fever Pitch Guy all but likes to accuse.
I would’ve replied to him but he has me blocked. I’m still surprised people like his posts so much because all he does is complain and make baseless assumptions of others just to trigger them.
How in the world is this roster 21-14?
Boy oh boy. The fact that Bobby Dalbec is even an option of any kind at this point is a sad situation. I know the injuries keep piling up, and the options are very limited, but it may be time to trade for a GENUINE middle infielder.
Solaris – I think they are trying to hold off until somebody – ANYBODY – returns to health, whether it be Story or Mondesi or Arroyo or Chang. They had two chances to acquire Iglesias, and passed on him each time … that shows their mindset.
FPG, you are dead on about Iglesias. I was going to post about that, but you beat me to it. LIke I asked in preseason, did he slap somebody’s mother or steal somebody’s pudding from the fridge?
DBH – Nepotism by Cora. He wants Kiki to be the man so his good buddy can stick out his chest with pride. Cora doesn’t care about whether Kiki is a AAA or AA player, he’s going to keep pushing him as SS until he’s fired.
Cora’s funny about favorites. We all watched Brasier pitch when he shouldn’t have. We all watched Robles pitch when he shouldn’t have. Now we get to watch Kiki butcher SS when he shouldn’t be playing. The guy just went on a very hot streak and now is batting his normal .240. That means his next cold streak will take him back under .200. I’m shocked Cora isn’t batting him lead off!!! Your questions about Iglesias are legit!!
They had two chances to acquire Iglesias, and passed on him each time
==================================
Technically, 30 teams have had an opportunity to sign Iglesias, and 30 teams have passed.
I wanted Iglesias too, but turns out we’re fine with Chavis. Blooms smarter than all of us.
Joe – I don’t know what’s worse:
1) You not realizing the Marlins signed Iggy during the offseason
2) You not realizing the Padres signed Iggy a couple weeks ago.
3) You not realizing that leaves only 28 teams passing twice.
LOL! I knew he was with the Padres, since I had looked that up. I didn’t remember TB.
But just so everyone is straight on what you are trying to say, you think Bloom made a mistake not signing him, even though no one else would give him a major league job?
Joe – Yes, because the Red Sox are trying to contend for a playoff spot and they had a desperate need for a solid SS.
I cannot think of another team in similar circumstances. Who else has three SS on the IL?
Arroyo = Jed Lowrie 2.0
Back in the day if you didn’t have an Arroyo, you settled for Hydrox.
Not saying Dalbec is crummy, but……..
Lol- Great context
Strange though because Arroyo played the whole game last night. Hamilton should have gotten the call as a true middle Infielder but Dalbec’s ability to play all four Infield spots must have factored in the decision to bring him up instead
Rsox – I agree, Cora views any player who has played multiple positions “versatile” and therefore valuable … even if they are God-awful defensively and can’t hit their way out of a paper bag. Danny Santana, Franchy, Marwin … the list goes on and on. Cora and Bloom don’t know anything about proper roster construction.
I don’t understand why the front office doesn’t see how thin (and weak) the middle infield is. Even more mind blowing to me is that they seem to be doing NOTHING about it.
I just don’t get it.
DBH – All I can think is the front office doesn’t want a situation where Story, Mondesi and Arroyo are all healthy midseason and then they have a numbers crunch. My hunch is Hernandez will settle in as the 2B once Mondesi or Story return, but expecting any of the injured infielders to return and stay healthy is wishful thinking IMO.
I guess we should at least be grateful that Arauz and Jack Lopez aren’t still starting games for the Red Sox.
I had forgotten about Arauz. He and Jose Peraza were terrible at 2B in 2020
Rsox – I don’t know how I had forgotten about Peraza, as he was Bloom’s first-ever Red Sox acquisition.
Yep …. Bloom’s first overpay too, $3M for a guy coming off a .631 OPS season and it was a so-called “versatile” player who couldn’t play ANY position well. And of course he hasn’t played in the majors since 2021.
Peraza
Marwin
Santana
None of them in the majors anymore … nice job Bloom!
Lol a worrisome like dude has a clue
If I’m David Hamilton I’m pissed what does he have to do to get the call. He’s on the 40 man and he has destroyed AAA so far plus he brings the element of elite speed on the bases. It just makes no sense to me what does this guy have to do to get the call.
Bruin1012 – He’s got a small sample at AAA and it’s far above his norm so it won’t last. Calling him up now when he’s on the verge of dropping 50 or more points in AAA as pitchers get a book on him is silly. He’s a lifetime minor league player based on skills. BEST CASE – sometime in the next few years when he masters AAA pitchers he could be a back-up called up for injuries on the MLB team. That’s his career upside unless something dramatically changes because his college career and minor league career screams below league average player with great speed.
David Hamilton hit really well in AA the later the season got he was old for that league but he has hit even better with much better plate discipline he looks very good both offensively and f defensively this year. The key thing is he can play short and second and he has blazing speed which is important in todays game if he can get on at the big league level which might as well see. We already know what Dalbec is going to do he’s going to strike out at least Hamilton brings blazing speed to the table.
Dalbec is up to be the utility 1b, 2b maybe ss and is already on the 40-Man. He will only be here for 2 weeks. — Theres not a clear cut place for Hamilton, unless you ship Valdez back down. Why not leave things as they are. Remember Hamilton only has 107 ABs at AAA.
Bruin1012 – Dalbec brings colossal power. If he Ks he can’t hit for power and Hamilton can’t steal first base. Pick your poison. Dalbec has MLB experience and Hamilton has limited AAA experience.
I live in Texas and when Hamilton was at UT he was nothing to write home about. Known for not being a good hitter but had great speed so he played. Not a ringing endorsement. Got eaten alive in the Cape Cod league.
Hit .250 at AA in 2022 and his best hitting was against weak teams. His fielding percentage in the minors at SS is almost as bad as Rafael Devers’ lifetime, minor league percentage or Devers’ major league fielding percentage. .950
I’m not seeing him as anything beyond a Mondesi type pinch runner when Mondesi was young. No glove, no bat just speed. He hit .250 at AA a year ago. That hardly sounds like a guy that is ready to take the leap. 28 games in AAA is about half of spring training. Small sample size to suggest he’s really improved off the full season .250 in AA.
Evaluating Dalbec and Hamilton makes for an easy decision. Dalbec.
1 – MLB experience
2 – Able to play multiple positions
3 – When hot his Isolated Power ranks with Devers and has exceeded it during previous seasons
4 – Another bad fielding SS? Dalbec plays SS as well as Hamilton, Kiki, etc.
Mondesi is the only player on the team that can play decent SS other than Story and Story may not be able to make the throws going forward. Hamilton belongs in the minors or if the team wants to waste a spot on a designated runner, then put him in the majors.
Way too many variables for us mere mortals. I’d like to see Hamilton at some point, but Dalbec can also spell Casas, Devers, and if JT is limping, he can give him a day off.
I think the flexibility of Dalbec for the next two weeks will trump Hamilton’s speed and fit at 2nd.
I need to correct the 2 weeks, I said eariler. Its only 10 days and only 8 games in those 10 days.
So for 8 games:
– Sox would need to waive a guy off the 40-man.
– Bench a middle infielder (Valdez?)
– All for a guy with only 107 ABs at AAA
Makes no sense, just wait for a better reason.
Hamilton is already on the 40 man they don’t need to waive anyone.
Don’t have to bench anyone. I was just saying bring him up instead of Dalbec. At the very least he brings blazing speed. Hamilton is also more of SS/2nd basemanbetter defensively.
I don’t care how many AAA at bats he has I would rather see him up pinch hitting and especially base running then Dalbec.
You want to bring him up from a place where he’s getting regular ABs just to do a little pinch hitting for 8 games? So 8 ABs, maybe 12 if he gets a start. Then send him back down. Do you feel the Red Sox offense needs that kind of help? That wont stunt his growth if he goes 0-12. I disagree.
Bruin1012 – I’m confused about your first comment.
Putting him on the 26 man roster is the spot I was talking about wasting. Why comment on the 40 man roster? I assumed everyone knew he was on the 40 man roster.
Hamilton is NOT a good defensive player. Have you looked at his fielding percentage at SS in the minors? .950 isn’t quite Devers but it’s bad. He is a ONE dimensional player as I pointed out. When Mondesi was 19 KC put him on the roster to simply steal bases. That’s the ONLY role I see for Hamilton until he improves his defense or starts hitting better.
If you don’t care if a player has proven himself competent at hitting AAA pitching that’s fine with me but I do believe promotions should be earned. He hasn’t earned one. Once again, if you want to waste a 26 man roster spot on a guy with ONE skill that seems like a bad decision when you have an experienced power hitter who can play multiple positions as well as the speedster can play one position.
Personally, a speedster doesn’t really help the MLB team but Dalbec replacing Casas still makes sense because Casas is in the majors without earning it and it shows. At least with Dalbec you have a guy with experience and the upside potential to put together a hot streak that will help the team. Casas only provides potential since he’s never done what Dalbec has done twice.
I was responding to Rsmith KD who did state the Red Sox would have to waive someone from the 40.
Ignore KD he is a TROLL.
Bruin1012 – I mute him that’s why I was confused. Thanks for the explanation.
don’t ignore him. Keep calling out his BS so that something will actually be done about it.
you mute everyone who doesn’t agree with you. It’s pretty standard.
At this point Dalbec should be DFA’d. We already have Casas and Turner, there’s no logical spot for Dalbec. He’s a void in this lineup.
They could get a couple of fringy prospects for him.
At this point, it would be worth it. If we traded him two years ago, we could’ve gotten more.
The Red Sox have the fourth best record of any team in baseball. Two of the teams with a better record are in its division. They are playing the toughest schedule in baseball, and all you Bloom Derangement sufferers can do is whine and moan. Get a life!
Toughest schedule what a tool
What a great response!
So much data and so many numbers!
Just for fun, how about explaining, using real data, why you think someone is wrong, before calling them a tool.
FWIW, BR shows them having the second toughest schedule in baseball, you tool.
I already did that genius multiply opponents wins as of right now times number of games played against them white Sox is one team that had stronger schedule and all smith could come up with is rpi what a tool
This is what you responded to:
“PKCasimir
They are playing the toughest schedule in baseball, ”
Okay, technically the RS have only the 2nd toughest schedule, but otherwise PK is spot-on correct. And since you knew that the WS had a tougher schedule, then you must have known that PK was right.
So what’s the point of calling him a tool? Am I missing something?
It’s too soon to know which teams are good this year the tool is counting pie rots as a strong opponent what a tool
It’s too soon to know which teams are good this year
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SOS is a technical term, not a subjective term. It can change, but some of our opponents will increase their winning % and some will decrease their winning %.
You should just accept that Baseball Reference says we have the #2 SOS. Assuming you don’t want to write to BR to tell them to change their methodology.
PKCasimir – How can you conclude anything about the schedule?
Nothing is normal!!! PIT is beating up good teams. COL has spent time ahead of the Dodgers. MIL was fantastic and now they aren’t. BOS sucked and now they are hot. If you can tell me what rating system you used to conclude it’s the toughest schedule or even a tough schedule please elaborate.
BOS got swept by the Pirates and swept DET who then went on a tear and beat a bunch of good teams. Then TB swept BOS and BOS then won 3 series against LAA, MIN and MIL all division leaders at the time. Then they lost a series to BAL who they beat at home the first series of the year. Just when you think you have an idea of who is good and who isn’t BOS beats CLE and sweeps TOR.and beats PHI on the road.
To make things even more confusing, each time a good player goes down the Red Sox somehow get better. Logic has to be thrown out the window. Nothing logical is happening in baseball. Good teams are playing bad, bad teams are playing good …. DOGS and CATS living together!!! Total Chaos.
So if the schedule is in fact tough, congrats to the Red Sox. If it’s easy, congrats to the Red Sox. I’m just hoping some sanity returns to the game and the good teams start playing good and the bad teams start playing bad. I hate watching baseball through some perverted prism!!!
Pie Rots have lost 7 straight
Remove – That could be the Red Sox in 6 games. That’s how unpredictable this season has been so far.
Bleier, brasier, and Littrel aren’t cutting it! Bloom should make a real trade or call up a double A guy like Drohan or Guerrero who at least have good stuff. Today was ridiculous
Bloom’s BFF – Once again so wrong that your website ID makes perfect sense.
Dalbec is the only AAA player who has had success at the MLB level. He’s the logical choice and since defense is NOT a priority on this team he’s still better at SS than Devers is at 3B and Kiki is at SS. It’s all about whether he can click like so many of the other under performers that are flourishing at the moment. If a guy like Valdez or McGuire or Wong can get hot there is no reason to think Dalbec can’t. If he does, his skills dwarf that of the other hitters I listed.
I guess you could say you pulled a Bloom with your ridiculous comment about Dalbec!!! hahaha
Who had May 7 in the pool? Arroyo makes the first of his regular trips to the DL.
Franmil Reyes just got DFA’d. He fits the Bloom profile for acquisitions. After many years of being a good hitter he had a sudden drop off in 2022. KC picked him up and he makes no sense for a young team like KC but he makes sense in Boston. He adds outfield depth and a power bat if the team can fix whatever is broken. Other than 2022, he’s been a consistently good hitter. He certainly makes more sense than Hamilton and frankly he’s an upgrade from Duvall if he can regain his normal performance level prior to 2022.
he makes sense in Boston. He adds outfield depth and a power bat if the team can fix whatever is broken.
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The RS outfield is Yoshida, Duran, Verdugo Refsnyder & Tapia. He wouldn’t start over any of them, and since 5 outfielders is the magic number, one would have to be cut.
In addition, Reyes isn’t really an outfielder. He’s had only 24 starts in the outfield between 2019-2023. and 271 starts at DH.
Ignore KD he is a Troll. He is setting up a claim that Bloom missed out if Reyes has a hot streak with a new team. His only themes are Cora/Bloom are bad and therefore any player they sign is the wrong move.
don’t ignore him. Keep calling him out for his trolling and BS. Eventually the mods will have to do something about it.
I doubt Reyes gets a major league deal. But he is probably worth a peak on a minor league deal by someone.
3 out of 5 against Philly & Atl, on the road. Well done.