Michael Arroyo's Mariners future isn't any more certain even after promotion

Sunday was a special day for Michael Arroyo, as he was called up by the Mariners and made his Major League debut. It was thoroughly deserved for a player who MLB Pipeline ranks as third in the M's farm system and 45th among all prospects. At the same time however, his future still remains shrouded in mystery.

You would think that being ranked as the top-rated hitting prospect in the Mariners farm system would count for something and it does, but only to a point. The reality is that Sunday's call-up to Seattle doubles as an audition for next season. And a big part of this audition involves finding out how and where exactly, Arroyo fits into the picture.

This season has been a case of Arroyo proving the critics wrong, after previously falling off the radar. As recently as July, Baseball America didn't even have him on their top 100 prospects list, which interestingly coincided with his promotion to Triple-A Tacoma for the first time. He proceeded to counter the lack of recognition, by hitting .277 with a .843 OPS over 49 games to earn his call-up to Seattle.

Michael Arroyo can hit, but what about that glove?

In fairness to Baseball America and other critics, the doubts surrounding Arroyo center more on his limited defensive capabilities. He was dismissed as a viable long-term second baseman, something which the Mariners themselves must be similarly concerned about. So much so, that they mostly played him in left field during his time in Tacoma.

The problem is that, as much as Arroyo embraced the position switch, he's not much more promising defensively than he did at the keystone. As per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, one NL scout described the 21-year-old as looking like an infielder trying to play left field. He said: "It wasn’t going to look pretty right away. Right now, it’s well below-average defense, especially at the big-league level."

The scout did add that players can work to become at least average defensively, but this is only acceptable if they're going to be able to hit in the majors. Certainly this is Arroyo's calling card, but the pressure comes from having to be so good at hitting, that it's enough for people to look past any subpar defense. This sure sounds like someone else who's currently on the Mariners roster.

Can Michael Arroyo be Randy Arozarena 2.0 for the Mariners?

We are of course talking about Randy Arozarena, who has been known during his time in Seattle, for regular lapses of concentration and hustle in left field. As frustrating as this has been for the Mariners, they've lived with it due to his tremendous ability with the bat. Now though, he's approaching free agency and unlikely to return to the Pacific Northwest, thus leaving an opening in left field.

Certainly, left field is Arroyo's best bet at a regular job in the majors. He just doesn't have enough about him to play at second base, which is manned by Cole Young anyway. The question is, if he can show enough during the remainder of the season to convince the Mariners he can effectively pull off the same act as Arozarena in left field? (Minus the lack of hustle which, to be fair, is one thing he doesn't show.)

As a final thought, it's also possible the Mariners are using this window to audition Arroyo as a trade chip. After all, let's not forget they can always play Brendan Donovan in left field next year, pending his health. Ultimately, we do hope that Arroyo sticks around in Seattle, but this starts with him continuing to do what he does best, by hitting well and often.

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