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The Cincinnati Reds got All Star Elly De La Cruz back last week and, rolled ankle aside, he’s going to be their primary shortstop on a daily basis going forward. The team had called up top prospect Edwin Arroyo to pair with Matt McLain up the middle in Elly’s stead, and the front office
then made the interesting decision to not just keep Arroyo up once their star returned, they showed they intend for him to play a lot.
After initially struggling a bit, Arroyo has settled in of late. He’s hitting .277 with a .333 OBP so far, and though he’s yet to homer he’s surged to an impressive .333/.389/.424 mark with a trio of doubles over his last 10 games.
Arroyo’s making a pretty decent case that he should be the team’s regular 2B going forward, especially since he’s looked competent hitting from both sides of the plate.
That brings us to McLain, who for the season actually now has a lower OPS (.646) than Arroyo (.656) as the wo trend in opposite directions. We saw what McLain did during his own breakout rookie campaign, but that was four seasons (and a major shoulder surgery) ago. In 873 PA since the start of the 2025 season – his first back after the 2023 breakout and lost 2024 – he’s hit .213/.301/.343 (.644 OPS).
There have been some streaks with McLain, who has socked 23 homers in that time and clearly shows he’s got more pop than his meager SLG suggests, but it’s just been so, so hard for him to sustain it. Perhaps that’s because he’s selling out to get there, as he’s struck out 28% of the time over the last two years while chasing the pop that was once there more naturally.
The glovework between the two seems both competent and comparable, as does their speed and ability to run the bases. A natural rotation between the two seems as if it could end up making this a moot point, but the consideration of which one gets bulk playing time does also have ramifications for the future of the position beyond this season. After all, McLain was alredy arb-eligible this season and is earning $2.3 million, and the arbitration system will dole out a raise on that at season’s end.
With the Reds mired in last place, they’re faced with a double-edged sword of decisions. What makes us better right now, and what will be the best move to make for the future?
This week’s MLB Reacts question prompts you to evaluate the state of 2B with the Reds. Given where they are today, who should be the regular 2B for them the rest of the season – Edwin Arroyo, or Matt McLain?
Let us know below!
