The Mariners announced that Dr. Keith Meister performed an elbow scope on second baseman/left fielder Michael Arroyo two days ago.  The procedure was meant “to clean up cartilage and brace a chronic injury to [Arroyo’s] UCL,” and the top prospect “is anticipated to be ready to return to game participation in April 2027.”

The projected timeline means Arroyo should begin next season on the injured list, though hopefully without too much time missed.  It wasn’t guaranteed that Arroyo would’ve made the Opening Day roster even when healthy, as he has played only 49 games at the Triple-A level.

That said, Arroyo already hit .283/.359/.471 in 532 combined plate appearances at the Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2026.  This production earned Arroyo his first promotion to the majors in September, and he hit the ground running with a very impressive .371/.439/.514 in his first 41 trips to the dish against MLB pitching.

While obviously a very small sample size, there’s plenty of optimism that Arroyo can be part of the Mariners’ next wave of young talent.  Arroyo was an international signing in 2022, and his ability to generate plenty of hard contract has drawn him some top-100 prospect attention in the last two seasons.  He has played only second base and left field over the last three years, so he could be a candidate to platoon with Cole Young at the keystone or get some time in left should Randy Arozarena depart in free agency.