Article: Twins Designate Oswaldo Arcia

[Seth Stohs]

Danny Santana's rehab was nearing an end, so the Twins had a difficult decision to make for how to get him back on the 25-man roster.

 

Following the Twins loss at Target Field to the Yankees, Paul Molitor announced that the team had designated Oswaldo Arcia for assignment.Let's start with the decision on Thursday. Obviously this decision wasn't made just today. It is likely something that the front office has been pondering for a week or more.

 

By designating Arcia for assignment, he is immediately removed from the team's 40- man roster. The team will have ten days to trade him, place him on waivers or release him.

 

What other options did GM Terry Ryan have in this case?

 

Well Byron Buxton and Max Kepler have options left. They could have been sent down to Rochester. A case certainly could be made that they could both use continued time at AAA. At least for now, the Twins are clearly looking to the future, a future that includes Buxton and Kepler in the starting lineup almost every day. In mid-June of a losing season, it's hard to argue that.

 

You could DFA Robbie Grossman. I mean, he's been arguably the Twins best hitter since he signed with them almost a month ago. I can't imagine anyone would think that's a good idea.

 

They could have designated Danny Santana for assignment, but with his speed and versatility, he is able to do more things in a backup role for the Twins.

 

The team could have gone down to a 12-man pitching staff, but with the worst pitching staff in baseball and many short starts, it's hard to justify that.

 

At that point, the best - though not easy whatsoever - decision was to DFA Oswaldo Arcia.

 

Frankly, he hasn't been given much opportunity this season and because he 1. can't hit left-handed pitching, 2. can't hit breaking balls, and 3. can't play very good defense, he just doesn't give a manager many options.

 

Now that's not to say that this may not be the best thing that could have happened for Arcia too.

 

He could go to a statistically strong organization which will use him solely against right-handed pitching. That team could use him in the outfield, or if it's an AL team, he could be a strong DH. Again, against right-handed pitching.

 

There is little question that when he is on, Oswaldo Arcia - still just 25-years-old - has the ability to be a dangerous, impact hitter in the major leagues. There is so much strength and so much talent.

 

Consider that in 103 games for the Twins in 2014, he hit .231 with 16 doubles and 20 home runs. His minor league track record certainly indicated that he had the ability to hit. He hit well - for average and power - at each and every minor league level including AAA, with the exception of his horrific 2015 season.

 

He knew he needed to put together a strong spring training to remain with the Twins. He put in the work in the offseason. I don't think anyone will question that. He came to camp in really good shape. Despite some good moments, he just wasn't getting any consistently playing time.

 

Was it the right decision by the Twins? Probably.

 

Was it probably the best situation for Oswaldo Arcia? I think so.

 

In my mind, the perfect scenario for Arcia would be in Milwaukee. His younger brother, Orlando, is one of baseball's best prospects and is pretty much ready to take over shortstop for the Brewers. Maybe being around his brother would help push Arcia to some success. But also, Miller Park is a good place for power hitters. If utilized properly, I have little doubt that Arcia can be a 20+ home run guy in the big leagues again.

 

Consider Danny Valencia. When he left the Twins, he was able to crush left-handed pitching but really struggled against right-handers. When he went to Toronto, they used him almost solely against left-handers and he put up great numbers. He went to Oakland and the same thing, he crushed southpaws. Then after some transactions, he started playing against right-handers too. Now he is hitting well overall. I see Arcia being able to do something very similar.

 

Again, that doesn't mean that this move was bad, or wrong... The Twins have options for their future in the outfield that we think are going to be better, and right now those guys need to play. This is a classic case where a change of scenery might just be the best thing for Oswaldo Arcia.

 

I hope it is.

 

Click here to view the article

[Eric R Pleiss]

A big bowl of WTF.

[Primetime82]

DA TWINS! Anyone want to tell me the last time this organization successfully developed a player to the Majors and they actually made a real impact?

[Vanimal46]

Mind.boggling.

[tobi0040]

Danny Santana has the same dirt on Molitor that Punto had on Gardy.

[curt1965]

The votes are in: organization of the year!

[Squirrel]

****. Damn it. Bad Twins, bad!

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Agreed.

[Vanimal46]

JD Martinez just went down for the Tigers. Does Arcia find a home in the division?

[LaBombo]

What's killing me about this season is not that the Twins have gone from a winning record in 2015 to being the worst team in the AL this year.

 

What's killing me is that ownership and the organization appear to be determined to conduct business as usual and continue to repeat the same mistakes over and over again, learning absolutely nothing.

 

Having no idea what to make of an Arcia is the kind of thing that happens when a franchise convinces itself that it's no longer rebuilding the minute it claws its way back to .500, like the Twins did last year.

Edited June 17, 2016 by LaBombo

[Otwins]

I won't miss Arcia.  He was not going to be a part of the Twins going forward. The wild swings, piss poor at bats and poor defense. Does he have power? Yes.  

His ceiling is platoon DH.  I think he heads to Oakland. These type of players are available every year at the end of free agency looking for jobs in the 3-5 million a year range. Think Chris Carter this year. His floor is what he has been doing the last two years.

[LaBombo]

 

 

JD Martinez just went down for the Tigers. Does Arcia find a home in the division?

At this point I'm reduced to hoping that Arcia A) does land with the Tigers, B} hits like a maniac, and C) thoroughly sticks it to his old organization when he gets the first chance to.

 

I hate having to include C), but A) and B} alone have no chance of getting through the insulation and inertia that's keeping the Twins' front office from taking meaningful action to remake this franchise.

Edited June 17, 2016 by LaBombo

[tobi0040]

Otwins,

 

I don't disagree with your analysis at all. But isn't it sad that we can just assume which team will pick a player up and that they will use him in a manner that maximizes his value?

 

I think one of 8 teams or so will pick him up and use him the right way.

[twinsnorth49]

Oh FFS!! I give up. 

 

Did not need to do this, the total system failure marches on.

 

Depressing.

[DaveW]

"Was it the right decision by the Twins? Probably."

 

Come on Seth, you can't honestly believe this. If the Twins were in the playoff hunt, then maybe the argument can be made to get rid of Arcia, but a team that is on pace for 120+ losses, there is absolutely zero reason to cut loose a young player with 30 HR, .800+ OPS upside.

 

Arcia wasn't tearing it up this year, but he had a higher OPS thus far then the following players:

 

Escobar

Plouffe

Kepler

Santana

Buxton

Every catcher the Twins have had play for them this year.

I don't get the fascination with Santana at this point, Arica has 30 HR upside as mentioned above, Santana's upside is clearly that of a utility player at best. He doesn't particularly field well enough up the middle to be above average off the bench as a util INF, and he doesn't hit nearly enough to be valuable in the OF.

 

Or of course they could have just trade Plouffe in the first place instead of forcing Sano into a crowded OF, and getting him more or less potentially injured as well by playing him in RF.

 

Now we are stuck with Santana, a guy who very likely wouldn't be on another single major league roster, and Plouffe, a guy that under no scenario should be on this ball club in 2017. Maybe he regains a tiny bit of value, but he isn't going to bring back anything of real note at this stage certainly.

 

What will make this 100x more frustrating is that we just know that they will send down Kepler in a couple weeks if he has a 5-6 game bad stretch anyways.

 

Ugh. Terry Ryan and the entire front office needs to go NOW. 2016 is toast and now they are making things even worse for 2017....2018....etc.

 

Good luck to Arcia, I hope for his sake he becomes a poor mans Ortiz somewhere and can hit 25-30HR a year for the next several years.

I wouldn't be shocked if a playoff caliber team like the Cardinals or the Mariners (would make a solid platoon partner with F Guit) claim him ASAP.

[bluechipper]

I've been a big Arcia supporter and was hoping for a bounceback season, but he hasn't shown much improvement outside of an early hot streak. I'm not overly disappointed with this move.

[LaBombo]

 

I won't miss Arcia.  He was not going to be a part of the Twins going forward. The wild swings, piss poor at bats and poor defense. Does he have power? Yes.  

His ceiling is platoon DH.  I think he heads to Oakland. These type of players are available every year at the end of free agency looking for jobs in the 3-5 million a year range. Think Chris Carter this year. His floor is what he has been doing the last two years.

 

So the Twins are paying a thirty year old DH 12 million over 4 years to do what Arcia was doing pretty much for free 3 years ago at age 22, and less than Arcia was doing at age 23.

 

And the good news is that the Twins can do that again?

 

I have absolutely no idea how that's a defense of this front office. Arcia is a flawed player to be sure, but not as deeply flawed as an organization that turns a kid who OPS'ed in the mid .700's in the majors at age 22-23 into a DFA'd afterthought.

[Teflon]

Now one less source of comic inspiration on a team struggling to put forth entertainment value.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Oh FFS!! I give up. 

 

Did not need to do this, the total system failure marches on.

 

Depressing.

Don't give up yet..... at least wait until Plouffe gets signed long term and Sano banished to the outfield forever

[DaveW]

 

Don't give up yet..... at least wait until Plouffe gets signed long term and Sano banished to the outfield forever

Honestly, as long as they don't give Plouffe, Suzuki, or Jepsen an extension I will consider that a massive win.

That's how low expectations have fallen, I will be freaking excited if they actually are competent enough to get rid of overpaid mediocre players (where we have better, younger and cheaper guys behind them) at the end of the year.

 

If they can manage to trade one, two or all three for some PTBNL I might throw a parade in their honor.

[John Bonnes]

I don't get it.

 

Its not that there aren't goo reasons to want to keep Buxton/Kepler up here. And it not like Arcia was getting much time. But losing talent like that organizationally is just wasteful and there wer so many other options.

 

One option not mentioned: send Park to AAA. He's on his way there anyway.

[twins_89]

Terry Ryan is out to show that the Sporting News article was too generous. The Twins front office is trying to get down to the 30th spot in the rankings.

[curt1965]

This organization is in a death spiral!

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Honestly, as long as they don't give Plouffe, Suzuki, or Jepsen an extension I will consider that a massive win.

 

That's how low expectations have fallen, I will be freaking excited if they actually are competent enough to get rid of overpaid mediocre players (where we have better, younger and cheaper guys behind them) at the end of the year.

 

If they can manage to trade one, two or all three for some PTBNL I might throw a parade in their honor.

Yep. It will feel like a huge win when Sano is finally taken out of the outfield when really it's just the correction of a mistake, though arguably it was worth trying.

[operation mindcrime]

Maybe we can get an Intl. bonus slot for him.

[jokin]

jokin, on 14 Jun 2016 - 04:09 AM, said:

   

Meanwhile, in typical fashion, the Twins will get absolutely ZERO for Arcia when he finally is officially Designated for Assignment

 

Predicted on Tuesday, fulfilled on Thursday. Thanks alot for making me look good Terry, but let's face it, the joke's on you. Terrible roster management, personnel development along with both piss-poor asset utilization and maximization.

 

Just another in a string of fireable offenses

[jokin]

 

 

Yep. It will feel like a huge win when Sano is finally taken out of the outfield when really it's just the correction of a mistake, though arguably it was worth trying.

 

"Arguably?" Who's your attorney? Johnny Cochran? (He's the only one off the top of my head who got clean away from defending the indefensible.)

Edited June 17, 2016 by jokin

[SydneyTwinsFan]

The Front Office should have two key skill sets upon which it is judged: talent evaluation and medium/long term asset management. It has consistently failed in these areas over recent seasons. The handling of Arcia is just another example of that. Heads need to roll and a fresh approach employed.

 

The Field Management team's key skill sets upon which it should be judged are short-term asset management/deployment and maximizing player output (whether by coaching, motivation or other means). Molitor and his crew have been abject in this regard all season, with head-scratching decisions made on an almost daily basis. Heads need to roll and a fresh approach employed.

 

The Twins are at risk of flushing away a potentially talented roster and minor league pipeline because of woeful management on and off the field. The rosters are a shambles, the Manager is getting nothing out of the assets at his disposal and the organization is becoming a laughing stock. The Twins' principles of stability and loyalty are laudable, but I think they're being stretched to breaking point.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

"Arguably?" Who's your attorney? Johnny Cochran? (He's the only one off the top of my head who got clean away from defending the indefensible.)

"If Sano's glove don't fit..."

 

 

You set that one up for me, didn't you

[PseudoSABR]

 

One option not mentioned: send Park to AAA. He's on his way there anyway.

Park won't learn to adjust to ML pitching in AAA.  He needs exposure at the ML level in this lost season. So do Kepler and Buxton at this point in the season.  In the end, Santana's versatility wins the day.