Christian Israel Arroyo (born May 30, 1995) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB). He previously played in MLB for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

, and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

. Listed at and , he bats and throws right-handed.

Early years

Christian Israel Arroyo was born on May 30, 1995 in

Brooksville, Florida Brooksville is a city in western Florida and the county seat of Hernando County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 7,719, up from 7,264 at the 2000 census. Brooksville is home to historic buildings and residence ...

to Israel Arroyo Jr., a 20-year United States Marine Corps combat veteran of Puerto Rican descent, and Kimberly Drummond. He grew up a Rays fan. Arroyo attended Hernando High School in

. He played for the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball t ...

at the

2013 18U Baseball World Cup The 2013 18U Baseball World Cup was an international baseball competition held in Taichung and Yunlin (Douliu), Taiwan from August 30 to September 8, 2013. There were no games played on August 30 and August 31, due to rain. Medalists Teams T ...

, where he was the MVP of the tournament and helped the US win gold.

Career

Draft and Minor Leagues

Arroyo was drafted by the

in the first round of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

. The selection was considered a surprise by experts. He was committed to the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

but signed with the Giants. Arroyo made his professional debut with the Arizona League Giants, hitting .326/.388/.511 with two

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and 39

RBIs A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

over 184 at-bats in 45 games. For his play he was named the Arizona League MVP. Arroyo spent 2014 with the

Salem-Keizer Volcanoes The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes are a baseball team located in Keizer, Oregon, who are charter members of the Mavericks Independent Baseball League, a four-team league entirely based in the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area and playing all their hom ...

and Augusta GreenJackets, where he batted .291 with six home runs and 62 RBIs in 89 games, and 2015 with the

San Jose Giants The San Jose Giants are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Located in San Jose, California, the Giants play their home games at Excite Ballpark. Games San Jose Giants ga ...

where he slashed .304/.344/.459 with nine home runs and 42 RBIs in 90 games. After the 2015 season he played in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...

. He spent the 2016 season with the

Richmond Flying Squirrels The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. The ...

, compiling a .274 batting average with three home runs, 49 RBIs, and 36 doubles in 119 games. Arroyo began the 2017 season with the

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 ye ...

, where he hit .446 with seven doubles, three home runs, and 12 RBIs in 16 games.

San Francisco Giants

On April 24, 2017, the Giants promoted Arroyo to the major leagues. He made his debut later that night, starting at third base against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

. On April 25, he recorded his first hit, a single, off of Clayton Kershaw. The following day, Arroyo hit his first Major League home run, a two-run shot off of

Sergio Romo Sergio Francisco Romo (born March 4, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League. He has previously played in MLB for the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, Mi ...

. He was sent down to Triple-A on June 4 to make room for

Hunter Pence Hunter Andrew Pence (born April 13, 1983), nicknamed "The Reverend", is an American former professional baseball right fielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, ...

, who was returning from the disabled list.

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 20, 2017, the Giants traded Arroyo,

Denard Span Keiunta Denard Span (born February 27, 1984) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mar ...

, Matt Krook, and Stephen Woods to the

for Evan Longoria and cash considerations. He began 2018 with the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

. Arroyo was recalled to

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater ...

on May 16, making his Rays debut on May 17 against the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

. He recorded two singles in five at-bats while playing third base. He was optioned to Triple A Durham where he finished the season. Arroyo finished the season with a .264 batting average and one home run.

Cleveland Indians

The Rays traded Arroyo, along with

Hunter Wood Hunter Blake Wood (born August 12, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Indians, and Texas R ...

, to the

on July 28, 2019, in exchange for minor league outfielder

Ruben Cardenas Below is a partial list of minor league baseball players in the Tampa Bay Rays system: Players Mason Auer Mason Bradley Auer (born March 1, 2001) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Auer attended ...

and international signing period slot money. Arroyo did not play for Cleveland during 2019, as he worked to rehabilitate from injuries. During the delayed-start 2020 season, Arroyo appeared in one game for Cleveland, playing an inning at third base on July 26, without a

plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runn ...

. On August 6, Arroyo was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

by Cleveland.

Boston Red Sox

Arroyo was claimed off waivers by the

on August 13, 2020. On August 20, he was designated for assignment, without having made an appearance for Boston; he was sent outright to the team's alternate training site on August 23. On September 8, Arroyo was selected back to Boston’s active roster; he made his first appearance for the Red Sox that day, against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. Overall with the 2020 Red Sox, Arroyo batted .240 with three home runs and eight RBIs in 14 games. In 2021, Arroyo made Boston's Opening Day roster. He was placed on the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

on May 9, due to a left hand contusion, and was re-activated on May 25. On June 24, he was again placed on the injured list, due to a right knee contusion, and was activated on July 5, hitting a home run in that evening's game against the Angels. Arroyo returned to the injured list on July 19 with a left

hamstring strain Straining of the hamstring, also known as a pulled hamstring, is defined as an excessive stretch or tear of muscle fibers and related tissues. Hamstring injuries are common in athletes participating in many sports. Track and field athletes are ...

, and was reactivated by the team on August 23. He went on the COVID-related injured list on August 27, and returned to the team on September 21. During the regular season, Arroyo played in 57 games for Boston, batting .262 with six home runs and 25 RBIs. He also appeared in 11 postseason games, batting 9-for-38 (.237) as the Red Sox advanced to the

American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the America ...

. On March 22, 2022, Arroyo signed a $1.2 million contract with the Red Sox, avoiding salary arbitration. After making the Opening Day roster for Boston, he was on the COVID-related list from June 15 until June 24. He was added to the injured list on July 9, due to a left groin strain, and rejoined the team on July 30. In 87 games with Boston, Arroyo batted .286 with six home runs and 36 RBIs. On January 13, 2023, the Red Sox and Arroyo reached agreement on a one-year contract, avoiding salary arbitration.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arroyo, Christian 1995 births Living people American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent Baseball players from Tampa, Florida Major League Baseball infielders San Francisco Giants players Tampa Bay Rays players Cleveland Indians players Boston Red Sox players Arizona League Giants players Augusta GreenJackets players Durham Bulls players Leones del Escogido players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Richmond Flying Squirrels players Sacramento River Cats players Salem-Keizer Volcanoes players San Jose Giants players Scottsdale Scorpions players Worcester Red Sox players