Red Sox place infielder Christian Arroyo on IL, shut down righty Tanner Houck

The Red Sox have placed infielder Christian Arroyo on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 7, due to a left hand contusion. Fellow infielder Jonathan Araúz has been recalled to take his place on the active roster.

Arroyo has picked up the majority of playing time at second base this season. The former top prospect has held his own at the dish, hitting .275/.333/.377 over 76 plate appearances. With Arroyo and Enrique Hernández both on the injured list, it seems Marwin González is in line to pick up the majority of starts at the keystone for now. As usual, the 32-year-old González has bounced around the diamond a lot this season, but he’s hitting only .208/.319/.313 over 113 plate appearances. González is starting at second and hitting leadoff Sunday afternoon against the Orioles.

In other Red Sox injury news, they’re shutting down right-hander Tanner Houck after he experienced some soreness in his flexor muscle. Manager Alex Cora says the team “is not overly concerned,” telling reporters (including Steve Hewitt of the Boston Herald) that Houck is “actually feeling better right now,” and the shutdown is one “we feel…is going to be short-term.” The 24-year-old has worked to a 4.35 ERA with fantastic strikeout and walk numbers (26.7% and 2.2%, respectively) in 10 1/3 MLB innings this year. Because Houck was optioned to the alternate training site before suffering the injury, he won’t be placed on the MLB injured list, meaning he will not accrue major league service time while he recovers.