The Reds have reached the point where the move almost makes itself: Edwin Arroyo has to go back to Triple-A, and Matt McLain needs to come off the injured list.
Arroyo was pushed into the big-league picture in June when Elly De La Cruz landed on the 10-day injured list with a strained hamstring. With De La Cruz now back to full strength, Cincinnati no longer has the same reason to keep Arroyo on the active roster. The opportunity was real, and so was the upside, but two months in the majors have made the next step pretty clear.
Before his debut on June 1, Arroyo had the kind of prospect buzz that gets attention around the league. He was viewed by many as a top-100 prospect, and the talent has never been the question.
The issue is readiness. After missing all of 2024 with a shoulder injury suffered in spring training, Arroyo got back on the field in 2025 and eventually started to show signs of the player the Reds believed they were getting.
Over the final two months of his Double-A season, he hit .292/.356/.361 with a 108 wRC+.
That carried over into a strong start at Triple-A Louisville. In 53 games with the Bats, Arroyo hit .323/.383/.562 with 11 home runs and a 142 wRC+. That earned him a place on the Reds’ 40-man roster over the offseason and set him up for the call to the majors.
But the jump has been rough. Since arriving in Cincinnati, Arroyo is hitting .244/.286/.282 with a 54 wRC+.
He still hasn’t hit his first Major League home run, and his defense has been shaky. That part isn’t entirely surprising, since he’s learning second base on the fly after spending almost his entire minor-league career at shortstop.
McLain’s season hasn’t been perfect either, but the Reds are not getting the same kind of value from Arroyo that they could from a healthy McLain. Before his calf injury, McLain was hitting .190/.293/.328 with eight homers and a 71 wRC+. Even so, his work at second base has been much stronger, with 4 outs above average at the position in 2026.
McLain is currently rehabbing at Triple-A Louisville, and that stint should end before the Reds play another game. He has made four rehab appearances and gone 5-for-14 with two doubles. For Cincinnati, the path forward is simple: activate McLain, option Arroyo, and let both players settle into the roles that fit them best.
In Other News...
Reds Just Got Another Trade Deadline Reminder They Cannot Ignore
A catcher swap out West offered another reminder of how quickly the market can move for a position the Reds have been watching closely. The Angels sent Logan O'Hoppe and reliever Chase Silseth to the Rangers for infield prospect Angel Arredondo, and for Cincinnati it was the kind of deal that underscores the value of young, controllable catching whenever it surfaces.
The Reds have been looking for more depth behind the plate now and beyond, with Tyler Stephenson moving closer to free agency and the internal answers still not looking like starting-caliber solutions. O'Hoppe fit the profile of the sort of catcher Cincinnati could use, which is why a trade like this lands as more than a transaction elsewhere. It is another deadline-era signal that help at that spot does not stay available for long. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Fans Wont Like This Trade Deadline Outfield Possibility
The Reds are expected to be active before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, and some of the names in play could come from the kind of roster spots that always draw attention this time of year. That usually means expiring contracts, but it can also mean controllable players who have enough value to interest other clubs, especially if theyve shown real progress at the plate and can help a contender right away.
JJ Bleday fits that second category, which is why his name is worth watching even if Cincinnati would prefer to keep him around. He has been one of the clubs better offensive pieces this season, and with two more years of team control, he brings the sort of cost certainty teams like to covet. The problem for the Reds is that they also need outfield help of their own, and moving a player who has become more reliable would only sharpen the question of how they plan to fill that depth. [Read more 🡒]