For Christian Arroyo, his return to the major leagues will have to wait at least two months after a hit-by-pitch fractured his left hand.
After a hit-by-pitch kept him off the field since June 14 with a wrist injury, Christian Arroyo was hit by another pitch while playing for the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats on Saturday that fractured his left hand. As a result, the No. 2 prospect of the San Francisco Giants is expected to miss a minimum of two months.
“You’re looking at a couple months if not longer,” Giants managers Bruce Bochy said (per sfchronicle.com). “It’s broken pretty good.”
Arroyo’s injury came in the fifth inning of Sacramento’s game against the Fresno Grizzlies, which the River Cats lost 8-1. Grizzlies pitcher Dean Deetz attempted to come in on Arroyo ended up hitting the top of his hand. Upon investigation by the trainers, Arroyo was taken out of the game and an examination revealed a serious break.
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Arroyo’s demotion to Triple-A followed an underwhelming first attempt as a major leaguer. He joined the Giants after batting .446 with three home runs for the River Cats to begin 2017. Although his batting average reached .278 with several clutch hits, Arroyo was sent down in early June batting just .192 through 24 games.
Since then, Arroyo kept his minor league batting average at .400, adding on a home run and four RBI. Clearly, his numbers in the major leagues were not reflective of his proven ability he’s shown in the minor leagues and Bochy is confident in his potential.
“He has a chance to be here,” Bochy said. “It’s obvious we would like to see him get more playing time up here.”
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Without an exact date of his return, Bochy believes Arroyo could rejoin the Giants before the season ends, saying “He has a chance to be here in September (per
).”