Brewers Sign Utility Infielder Christian Arroyo to Minor-League Deal

Christian Arroyo, 28, had some prospect sheen during his time in the minor leagues, and has been with the Rays and Red Sox for most of the last six seasons. He was originally a first-round pick by the Giants, and became the linchpin of the trade that sent Evan Longoria from Tampa Bay to San Francisco. ESPN's Buster Olney has the details on Arroyo's new deal with the Brewers.

Christian Arroyo’s deal with the Brewers is worth $1.5m in base salary if he makes the team, plus another $500k in incentives.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 25, 2024

It's been a long time since anyone viewed Arroyo as a potential star, and as this deal reflects, he's no longer valued highly enough even to garner a guaranteed roster spot. At his best, he hits for average and shows an occasional ability to split the gap, but he's never hit even 10 home runs (or, to be fair, come to bat more than 300 times) in a season in the big leagues. He has contact skills, which he's augmented the last few years by getting more aggressive at the plate, but for that very reason, he walks excruciatingly little.

The Brewers are good at working with this kind of player. Arroyo is not much worse than Luis Urías or Owen Miller were when they arrived in the organization. The team will seek to tweak Arroyo's approach and get more walks without more strikeouts, as they've been able to do with other, similarly light-hitting infielders in recent years. He's not going to be any coach's priority in spring training, though.

Rather, Arroyo will come to camp looking to win a spot, and with the Brewers just hoping to remain flexible. If they unexpectedly trade Willy Adames, he could join the roster as a backup at multiple infield spots and a platoon partner to Brice Turang. If not, he'll try to prove himself more worthy of the last spot on the bench than the likes of Miller, Oliver Dunn, or Vinny Capra. That's rather flimsy competition, so there's a real path to a job for Arroyo here, but for today, all we can say is that the Brewers now have a little more insurance in the event of injuries or a surprising trade.

What do you think of Arroyo? Whom do you prefer for the final infield bench spot? Let's discuss.