Red Sox infielder Christian Arroyo has the potential for a breakout 2022

Christian Arroyo can be huge for the Red Sox in 2022

In 2021, the Red Sox far exceeded any expectations that were placed upon their shoulders heading into the season. We saw new faces in the lineup rise to the occasion while some familiar friends helped carry the team to a late October run. One thing that was obvious about this squad all season was their chemistry and Christian Arroyo was a big part of that.

Arroyo has been with the Red Sox for two seasons now and has quickly become a fan favorite as well as a favorite in the clubhouse. He’s even grown into being one of the more clutch hitters in the lineup and better defensive players on the diamond. At just 26-years-old, he has himself positioned and poised to finally have his breakout campaign.

Christian is Boston’s defacto second baseman but with the Red Sox centerfield having more players than spots, he may have to fight for his position ahead of Opening Day. Kiké Hernández was brought in to be the everyday second baseman but due to his stellar defense in center field, Arroyo was once again slotted into the open spot.

It’s far too early to know what Alex Cora is going to do with Hernández this season but Arroyo should be the first choice at second base. 2021 saw him get the most playing time of his big league career at 57 games but it could’ve been far more had he been able to stay healthy. Since being picked up off waivers in August of 2020, he’s spent a total of 98 days on the IL with 96 of those days coming in 2021.

He was hampered by knee and hamstring issues, plus he got plunked on the hand and missed time for that, then he had one hell of a battle with Covid that cost him almost an entire month. Had even half of that time been missed we could’ve seen some seriously great stuff out of the young infielder.

Arroyo totaled a .262/.324/.445 line with six homers and 25 RBI. That may not seem that great but again we have to consider all the time he missed, it’s pretty impressive that he was still able to be an effective member of the team. He did most of his heavy October lifting during the ALDS where he slashed .313/.313/.375 against the Rays. Plenty of good stuff to build upon and now it’s time to turn the page to 2022.

He has no direct threat at second base beyond that platoon with Kiké. Jeter Downs is down in Worcester but his inconsistent level of play will likely keep him down there for the foreseeable future. So the door is wide open for Christian to show AC and Chaim Bloom that he’s their guy and should be in the lineup every day.

If the Red Sox do go with him this season and he’s able to log that playing time that he desperately needs, the sky is the limit. We’ve already seen his patience at the plate, defensive strengths, and ability to come through when the teams need him the most, now it’s time to see that all year long.

I do doubt that he’ll get in an entire season just based on the fact that he hasn’t done it before, but he’s also never been given this opportunity either. If AC gives him the lion’s share of the playing time at second base I could honestly see him finishing around 100 games in 2022, which nearly doubles his career-best of 57. But again, it’s all about staying healthy.

His 1.2 WAR saw him finish eighth for the Red Sox overall during 2021 which is impressive considering his short sample size. Granted that can be used against him since he had less time to have poor showings but I’m an optimist so I’m going to say he maximized the short time he had. His 2.9 defensive rating was was fourth-best on the team while his 2.2 UZR also saw him finish fourth.

I’m a big Christian Arroyo guy and I think he can do great things with the Red Sox. It’s all going to come down to Cora giving him his time to shine and Arroyo holding up his end of the bargain by remaining healthy and continuing to improve. 2022 offers him a fantastic chance to stamp his name on his spot in the lineup and if 2021 is anything to go off of, I think he’ll hit it out of the park.