The Red Sox were ready to cash in on Christian Arroyo's hot streak leading up to the Major League Baseball trade deadline.
Well, not really. But Boston reportedly had some fun with the idea of using the valuable utility man as the centerpiece of a blockbuster trade.
During the Red Sox's 8-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on Wednesday night, MassLive's Chris Cotillo revealed a joke that was popular among Red Sox players as baseball's trading window was nearly shut.
"There was a joke going around the clubhouse on deadline day that the Red Sox had traded Christian Arroyo to the Angels for Shohei Ohtani," Cotillo tweeted. "With the way Arroyo has played since coming off the IL, the Angels should have done it."
Arroyo certainly has been tearing the cover off the ball since he rejoined the Red Sox roster. The 27-year-old posted a .458 batting average over seven games in July and he currently owns a .340 mark through 14 games in August. Arroyo's playing time figures to diminish upon Trevor Story's return, but at this rate, manager Alex Cora made have to go out of his way to find at-bats for the sixth-year pro.
Arroyo and the Red Sox will try to complete a three-game sweep of the Pirates on Thursday night. NESN's full coverage of the finale begins at 6 p.m. ET.
