The Boston Red Sox have selected the contract of Christian Arroyo ahead of today’s doubleheader, per Chris Cotillo of Masslive.com (via Twitter). Deivy Grullon, recently claimed off waivers from the Phillies, will also join the club at their 29th man. In addition, Matt Hall has been optioned to the team’s alternative site, and Andrew Benintendi was transferred to the 45-day injured list. His season his likely over.
Hall, 27, made the Opening Day roster, and given the way Boston has needed to cycle through pitchers this season, he may not be done at the major league level this year. He needn’t do much to improve on his current numbers, however: Hall made 3 appearances including 1 start, surrendering a woeful 14 earned runs across 6 1/3 innings. Hall has an 11.23 career ERA across parts of three seasons with the Tigers and Red Sox.
Arroyo takes Hall’s place on the active roster, and he’ll get at least one start at second base today. The much-traveled infielder has suited up for the Giants, Rays, and Indians in his career, though he made just one defensive appearance for the Indians earlier this season. His greatest major-league success came with the Rays in 2018 when he slashed .264/.339/.396 over 20 games, but the versatile infielder has not yet demonstrated an ability to slug. Second base has been a bit of a dead zone for the Red Sox this season, however, so he’ll get a chance to compete with Jose Peraza, Michael Chavis, Yairo Muñoz, Tzu-Wei Lin, and Jonathan Araúz for keystone at-bats. Chavis, for his part, will start in left field today for the first time in his career.
Today should be a good day for Grullon, who not only returns to the majors, but does so against the team that recently designated him for assignment. The Triple-A All-Star will start the second game of today’s doubleheader behind the plate against his former team, per Cotillo. Presumably, he’ll be returned to the team’s alternate site at the end of the doubleheader, though he could easily return to the active roster at some point.
Benintendi fans will be less spirited by the news that he will miss the rest of the season. Boston’s left fielder played in just 14 games, slashing .103/.314/.128 without a home run in 52 plate appearances. A strained right rib cage sent Benintendi to the injured list. He has one more year on his current contract worth $6.6MM before facing a third year of arbitration. He is scheduled to be a free agent prior to the 2023 season.
