5) Christian Arroyo
As much as I’d love to profile another pitcher the Mets added, I don’t see much separation. Many are oft-injured or guys who’ve never fully made it. Christian Arroyo has at least logged almost 300 games in the majors.
A career .252 hitter with an OPS just under .700, he’s not horrible to have around as a utility infielder. Mostly a second baseman in his career, he is becoming a first base type of player in the latter stages of his career.
Arroyo hit .314 in just under 200 plate appearances last year in Triple-A for the Philadelphia Phillies. It was light, but that’s who he is. He puts the bat on the ball at a decent rate. He’s not Jose Iglesias with the glove, but there are some similarities. Completely unrelated to baseball, one cannot ignore how one’s given name is Christian and the other’s surname translates to churches. Holy moly!
Only 30-years-old, Arroyo isn’t nearly as worn down as some of the other utility options the Mets could have added this winter. He’s a guy who can win his way back onto a major league roster in a limited role.
Arroyo won’t make the team out of camp (nor should he) but could supply the team with some good depth off the bench all across the infield. In a sea of free agents who’ve never proven anything at the MLB level, Arroyo has an edge as somebody who never has.
