ALLENTOWN, Pa. — As Christian Arroyo entered the 2023 season with the Boston Red Sox, he was no longer the “bright-eyed, bushy-tailed” newcomer surrounding stars like Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts in his first few prolonged tastes of big-league baseball. Instead, the infielder had a postseason run under his belt and was lined up to start at second base.
In his age-28 season, the former top prospect began to feel the expectations. He wanted to perform, thinking about his All-Star aspirations before ever establishing himself as a reliable regular. It was a lot for Arroyo to handle.
“I think in ’23 I had put so much pressure on myself to try to make the next step,” Arroyo said.