Red Sox’s Chaim Bloom Reflects On Decision To DFA Christian Arroyo

The Red Sox designated Christian Arroyo for assignment Friday, and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom admitted it was a tough decision.

Boston recalled Luis Urías, who it acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers before the Major League Baseball trade deadline Tuesday, from Triple-A Worcester, and he’ll make his Red Sox debut Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park.

Arroyo played 224 games with the Red Sox and earned praise from fans for his versatility and key moments. And his status in Boston was not lost on Bloom.

“Really hard. Again, the baseball side of it where Christian, obviously, hasn’t been able to get back on track consistently this year,” Bloom told NESN’s Tom Caron on the “TC & Company Podcast.” “And it’s tough because he’s a better player than this, and I know he’s going to have success again.

“I think what made it harder is what he means to us. This is a guy who, obviously, was a first-round pick, highly-touted prospect, gets moved in a huge trade, doesn’t click where he gets moved to there, bounces around a little bit and kind of finds a home here.

The Red Sox announced the decision to designate Christian Arroyo for assignment in order to call up the newly acquired Luis Urias. Chaim Bloom joined the TC & Co. podcast to discuss the decision. @TomCaron | #RedSox pic.twitter.com/WC0zSbswun

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— NESN (@NESN) August 4, 2023

“And I don’t just mean what he did on the field. Particularly in ’21, he was huge for us. But also in our clubhouse, I think this is a guy who appreciates Boston, has really bonded with our fans. That makes it hard. It’s tougher having these conversations when you know the player cares and they care as much as we do. Christian cares. He cares about being good. He cares about baseball, and he cares about this organization, this team. His whole heart is in this. That makes it hard. It’s just something we thought we needed to do to try to move ourselves forward but really, really difficult decision, difficult conversation”

Boston’s actions at the trade deadline showed its commitment to youth, and the Red Sox have the opportunity to make a splash this weekend as they hope to gain ground in the American League Wild Card when they take on the Blue Jays.