NEW YORK, NY — After rumors of potentially withdrawing from the 2026 World Baseball Classic due to insurance being denied for many of its superstars and marquee names, Puerto Rico has pieced together a roster still fit to compete on the world’s largest stage.
Most recently, Team Puerto Rico added top Reds prospect Edwin Arroyo, a switch-hitting middle infielder, poised for a breakout season in Triple-A before experiencing his soon to be debut in the show.
Arroyo will join Orioles’ infielder Luis Vázquez and Athletics’ utility man Darell Hernaiz as the lone shortstops and second basemen on the team following the insurance rejections of Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and Astros third baseman Carlos Correa, as well as the WBC suspension of Tigers infielder Javier Báez.
Edwin Arroyo’s first taste of the Major Leagues will come next month in San Juan, Puerto Rico as he represents Puerto Rico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic – Image Credit: Minor League Baseball
Arroyo, a native of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, was drafted in the second round of the 2021 MLB draft by the Mariners out of the Arecibo Baseball Academy. In Seattle’s system, Arroyo played just over a season—split between rookie ball in 2021 and 87 games in A-ball with the Modesto Nuts—in which he had the best offensive stretch of his career.
At just 18 years old, Arroyo put up shocking numbers with a .316 batting average, 13 home runs, 115 hits, and a .899 OPS in 364 at-bats. His production shot him up on scouting boards, and he was soon traded to the Reds as a key piece in the blockbuster deal that sent pitcher Luis Castillo to the Mariners.
Edwin Arroyo was a major piece in the Mariners-Reds trade headlined by Dominican right-hander Luis Castillo going to Seattle back in July of 2022 – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Following the trade in 2022, former Reds general manager Nick Krall said to MLB.com, “We tried to get the best players we could get back. We felt that this was the best return we could get for Luis and the best we could do.”
In his new setting, Arroyo struggled heavily throughout the remainder of the 2022 season, batting .227 with the Single-A affiliate of the Reds, the Daytona Tortugas. That offseason, Arroyo played his second season of Puerto Rico Winter Ball as well and saw similar limited success across 20 games of action.
The introduction of the new minor league system saw Arroyo begin his next season in High-A, where he spent the majority of his season, apart from a Double-A call-up after the conclusion of the season.
With the Dayton Dragons at High-A, he still did not quite return to his initial superstar numbers, but batted a respectable .248, with 13 home runs and 28 stolen bases. Arroyo’s speed is a huge part of his game, and has also contributed to impressive fielding skills that are going to be well-equipped to serve this year’s Puerto Rican team.
Unfortunately, after a spring training invite to start 2024, Arroyo suffered a shoulder injury in a Cactus League game that required surgery, leaving him sidelined for the entire season. He did not see game action again until the Arizona Fall League that year, where he appeared in 18 games and was named to the National League All-Star team.
By spring training of 2025, he once again earned an invite to Major League camp, before starting his season with Double-A Chattanooga, where he remained for all of 2025. He improved his contact and situational hitting immensely, improving his average to .284 in 120 games. He was added to the 40-man roster that November, and his success carried into winter, where he put the league on notice in Puerto Rico with an insane .355 average in 16 games against some of the world’s top talent.
Edwin Arroyo, yet to make his Triple-A debut, is projected to make his MLB debut sometime during the 2026 regular season – Image Credit: Minor League Baseball
His winter production certainly caught the eyes of Puerto Rico’s GM Carlos Beltrán and manager Yadier Molina since they needed to fill out key roster spots with the exclusion of stars like Lindor, Correa, and Báez from the infield. Arroyo was officially named to the roster earlier this month.
Arroyo will likely start the 2026 season in Triple-A with the Louisville Bats, trailing behind star shortstop and 2023 National League LatinoMVP Rookie of the Year Elly De La Cruz for the major league spot.
Still, Arroyo spoke with high regard for the invitation from Puerto Rico and cited the attention his performance in the World Baseball Classic can bring to his game:
“I haven’t been in the bigs, but I know the competition is going to be like a big league competition. I will do my job and open their eyes so they know I’m ready for the competition.”
Puerto Rico will kick off their WBC campaign with a friendly against the Boston Red Sox on March 3rd, before hosting Pool A Play at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The group features Canada, Cuba, Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela, with Puerto Rico’s opener coming on March 6th against Colombia.
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