Article: Oswaldo Arcia To Be Called Up On Monday

Download attachment: Arcia_Oswaldo.jpg According to Phil Miller, the Star-Tribune's Minnesota Twins beat reporter, Oswaldo Arcia will be called up on Monday to fill-in for Wilkin Ramirez, who will go on paternity leave. Twins Daily ranks Arcia as the #4 prospect in the Twins system, is only 21 years old and is currently hitting .414 with a .793(!) slugging percentage in Rochester. According to Miller, he will be the youngest player to debut for the Twins since Joe Mauer.

How much playing time he'll have remains to be seen. Ramirez is a bench bat, but the Twins are unlikely to be calling up Arcia to sit on the bench. He has played mostly right field for the last two years, but Chris Parmelee is relatively young and healthy and also hits left-handed, like Arcia. The other corner outfield, Josh Willingham is a veteran who hit 35 home runs last year. It seems most likely Arcia will serve in one of those spots or as designated hitter, and the positions will rotate, giving Parmelee, Willingham, Joe Mauer, Ryan Doumit or Justin Morneau some time off.

It's also unclear how long he will remain with the team. Ramirez should only be gone for a few games. For Arcia to remain much longer would require an injury, some serious roster re-shuffling or a change in position.

Last year in AA-New Britain, Arcia did play 10 games in center field and played their full time in rookie league. His move to a corner spot supposedly had more to do with the organization's depth than his inability to play the position. So the Twins could try for a game in center field.

If he can handle the position defensively, it might make things interesting for the Twins. Current center fielder Aaron Hicks has struggled from the left side of the plate in the past and has just two hits and two walks versus 17 strikeouts from that side this year. The Twins could platoon the two as they learn the ropes their rookie years.

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