Oswaldo Arcia

[PopRiveter]

Any notice what Arcia is doing? He's hitting .353/.428/.710 for Arizona's AAA affiliate with 20 hr. Just dominating that league.

His release was the last Twins move truly disappointed me. I really would've liked to see him pay off his potential here.

With production like that at AAA, he's gotta be back in the bigs somewhere in the second half.

[h2oface]

We will see. He may be a player that plays best in AAA or in Japan or Korea. He sure didn't do it in the MLB, and his fielding is almost Delmonesque.

[PopRiveter]

Agreed about his fielding, but I figured it was a matter of continuing to give him a shot versus continuing to give Kennys Vargas a shot.

They are the same age and are both all-bat/no-glove players. We all seem to praise Vargas for producing whenever given a chance (.729 career ops) while we complain that Arcia didn't produce when given a chance (.720 career ops). Pretty similar production in the bigs so far, but Arcia's best stretches in the minors has been far superior to Vargas' best.

Still bugs me that they stuck with Vargas, but maybe it will prove to be the right choice.

[big dog]

Well, Vargas is a switch-hitter, which matters a bit.

 

And they haven't stuck with Kennys yet, that's for sure.

 

I hope Ozzie gets a chance but I won't bet that he makes it work out.

[clone52]

 

Agreed about his fielding, but I figured it was a matter of continuing to give him a shot versus continuing to give Kennys Vargas a shot.
They are the same age and are both all-bat/no-glove players. We all seem to praise Vargas for producing whenever given a chance (.729 career ops) while we complain that Arcia didn't produce when given a chance (.720 career ops). Pretty similar production in the bigs so far, but Arcia's best stretches in the minors has been far superior to Vargas' best.
Still bugs me that they stuck with Vargas, but maybe it will prove to be the right choice.

 

I lot of other teams also released Arcia, so its not like the Twins were alone in their thinking.

 

Also, Vargas is not a terrible 1B.  A team could live with him at 1B.  (In fact, maybe the Yankees would trade for him).

 

[gunnarthor]

I liked Arcia and I think the Twins didn't give him much of a shot last year - a real problem that Molitor displayed with several young guys. But he's a DH only.

[Vanimal46]

Good luck to Arcia.

 

During his time with the Twins he was one of the most frustrating players to watch IMO. So many bone headed plays in the OF, and trying to hit a 700 ft. HR every swing he attempted. The OF defense is light years better without him out there. 

[Mr. Brooks]

I wish him the best and wish he was still here.

[Thrylos]

Surprised that nobody gave Arcia a first baseman's mitt to try for a bit.  Seriously.  That might be where his future is

[drjim]

I think we have seen Arcia's future and this is it.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Yeah, he's probably a no-glove AAAA player, at this point.  Not much value in keeping him on a 40-man roster, much less a 25-man like when we cut him.

 

Although good for him that he's at least rebounded at the AAA level -- remember how much he struggled there in 2015?  His current 183 wRC+ leads all batters above A-ball by a decent amount.  If he keeps that up, I could see him getting a cup of coffee in MLB again.

[nicksaviking]

Arcia always seemed like a guy who needed a chance to fail and recover to see if his shortcomings could be overcome. He tore through the minors and then played capable offense in his first couple years in the majors.

 

He had/has so much ability with the bat, so many times a young guy who has never struggled just needs a taste of failure to be humbled and refocus their efforts.

[drjim]

I didn't realize he was still only 26. Maybe he'll sneak in a productive season or two as a dh somewhere.

[Oldgoat_MN]

In 2013 Arcia had a .313 batting average in AAA.
In 2014 he had a .312 batting average in AAA.
For reasons no one understood (as Vanimal points out above) he swung at pitches so hard that he actually hurt his back at one point. He either doesn’t understand the game or he completely ignores OBP and hits that are not home runs in MLB. So much wasted talent.

Absolutely loved the guy and expected big things, but as sorry as I was to see him go, keeping Vargas was, I believe, the right thing to do (if it was down to the two of them).

[bird]

Arcia is right up there at the top of my long list of disappointments. There was just something about him and his excitable nature that appealed, but then the pendulum would swing and he'd conjure an image in my mind of this egoistic, petulant knucklehead, and then he'd bear this out by doing really stupid things.

 

I have the impression that he's moved around less because evaluators give up on his talent and more because they simply get exhausted by the knucklehead in him.

[Otto von Ballpark]

I don't think that it's fair to says his career path has been determined primarily by him being a "knucklehead".  I don't doubt he did knuckleheaded things from time to time, but his minor league success with the Twins was built on high BABIP, it's not that unsurprising that it didn't really translate to the majors, where the K's naturally rose, the BB's naturally fell, the BABIP naturally normalized, and the defensive issues were naturally exposed.  That's why he rode the waiver carousel last year and finds himself on a minor league deal this year.

[Rosterman]

Brings back memories of guys like Mike Restovich, Chris Parmelee, Ryan Radmanovich and Dave McCarty, guys who constantly killed at AAA but basically were on the end of many major league rosters. Not sure what one can do to get the full potential out of some talented guys. 

 

By the way, whatever happened to Delmon Young?

[Respy]

Ditto with everyone else above.  If Arizona thought he could hit at the majors, he'd probably be up.  To his benefit, it does seem he's really improved his hitting against lefties (lower OPS, but higher average at .415 which means he's cutting down his swing against them).  Now, if he could ever improve his pitch recognition and learn to lay off breaking balls out of the zone... like h2oface said, he seems like the ideal candidate to play in Japan or Korea because of the nasty slow junk they throw there.  Eric Thames is the current poster boy for this (though I see his average has dropped badly to .245).

[wsnydes]

I wasn't ever an Arcia fan, but I don't feel he got a fair shake here.  I do think the Twins made the correct decision in keeping Vargas instead though.

 

I echo Vanimal in my frustration in watching him, both at the plate and in the field.  He was one of those guys that I didn't really like but wanted him to prove me wrong because you could see what he could do to a baseball.  He just never seemed to understand that there were other options other than a 700' longball.  

[laloesch]

 

Good luck to Arcia.

 

During his time with the Twins he was one of the most frustrating players to watch IMO. So many bone headed plays in the OF, and trying to hit a 700 ft. HR every swing he attempted. The OF defense is light years better without him out there. 

 

Best statement i've read summing up his tenure with the Twins major league squad.  Boneheaded plays in the outfield and swinging like a madman in the box in every at-bat.  I honestly had forgotten about him until this topic popped up.  Bit of a head case too if i remember correctly.  Good riddance in my opinion.

[nicksaviking]

Boneheaded defense a reckless approach at the plate and a bit more brash than a typical stoic Minnesotan can stomach? Sounds a lot like Miguel Sano last year. 

 

Perhaps it's just me, but his boneheaded defense, reckless swing and brashness seemed to be symptoms of overconfidence and immaturity, which shouldn't be shocking or unexpected considering his age. They also seem correctable since they really aren't physically limiting, just mentally limiting. I hope his recent negative experiences have helped him learn a few things while at the same time he keeps the same energy.

[laloesch]

 

Boneheaded defense a reckless approach at the plate and a bit more brash than a typical stoic Minnesotan can stomach? Sounds a lot like Miguel Sano last year. 

 

Perhaps it's just me, but his boneheaded defense, reckless swing and brashness seemed to be symptoms of overconfidence and immaturity, which shouldn't be shocking or unexpected considering his age. They also seem correctable since they really aren't physically limiting, just mentally limiting. I hope his recent negative experiences have helped him learn a few things while at the same time he keeps the same energy.

 

The important thing is progression and a willingness to learn.  Sano has learned / is learning, and is progressing.  You can't fault someone for being young and green.  We've all been there one way or another in some aspect of life.  

 

Too me Arcia was stuck both mentally and physically and just wasn't progressing the way the Twins hoped and that ultimately led to them giving up on him after three seasons.  Sometimes a change in scenery was needed.  

[nicksaviking]

 

The important thing is progression and a willingness to learn.  Sano has learned / is learning, and is progressing.  You can't fault someone for being young and green.  We've all been there one way or another in some aspect of life.  

 

Too me Arcia was stuck both mentally and physically and just wasn't progressing the way the Twins hoped and that ultimately led to them giving up on him after three seasons.  Sometimes a change in scenery was needed.  

 

Right but he was 25 last we checked in on him. All I'm saying is learning some life lessons the hard way can often give a young person the motivation they need to correct course. I know I had a few humbling experiences that made me change my ways.

[laloesch]

 

Right but he was 25 last we checked in on him. All I'm saying is learning some life lessons the hard way can often give a young person the motivation they need to correct course. I know I had a few humbling experiences that made me change my ways.

 

I agree 100%.  Apparently though the Twins decided to give up on him after three partial seasons 2013-2016 and several other teams have tried working with him as well and have given up.

[drock2190]

Did anyone see his brother Orlando sneaking some ice cream from a fan on a foul ball?

 

Oswaldo would have probably taken the whole container!

[Dr. Evil]

 

The important thing is progression and a willingness to learn.  Sano has learned / is learning, and is progressing.  You can't fault someone for being young and green.  We've all been there one way or another in some aspect of life.  

 

Too me Arcia was stuck both mentally and physically and just wasn't progressing the way the Twins hoped and that ultimately led to them giving up on him after three seasons.  Sometimes a change in scenery was needed.  

And if he ultimately thrives in another setting good for him. Not, shame on us.

[DaveW]

I fully expect Arcia to join Hicks and Meyer as 2018 all stars.

[DaveW]

And if he ultimately thrives in another setting good for him. Not, shame on us.

Good point, it's not the Twins fault that all these youngsters go onto stardom with a better coaching staff and approach, just like it's not their fault that they have been the worst overall team in baseball the last 6.5 seasons.

 

Yes, this is shame on them, they had no reason to give up on arcia so quickly! It made no sense imo!

[bird]

 

I don't think that it's fair to says his career path has been determined primarily by him being a "knucklehead".  I don't doubt he did knuckleheaded things from time to time, but his minor league success with the Twins was built on high BABIP, it's not that unsurprising that it didn't really translate to the majors, where the K's naturally rose, the BB's naturally fell, the BABIP naturally normalized, and the defensive issues were naturally exposed.  That's why he rode the waiver carousel last year and finds himself on a minor league deal this year.

 

I doubt Oswaldo's K's and BB's "naturally" rose and fell respectively. The guy batted for average as a minor leaguer. He got to the majors and fancied himself as a prolific power-hitting strong man. You could see it in his body language. Pitchers were able to take advantage of his excitable nature and aggressiveness and he wasn't mature enough and blessed with enough sense at the time to adjust. He played some CF in the minors, so I don't think his ineptitude was "exposed". His ineptitude as a MLB fielder was at least in part due to his lack of dedication to becoming a better defender in my mind. He got worse, not better.

 

So I disagree that Arcia reached a "natural" plateau. He showed some glimpses of becoming a very solid offensive force, right? I think he might still have a chance to be productive in MLB if he grows up and gets his head straight. If he stops being such a knucklehead.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Did you watch Arcia in the minor leagues? Here is what Sickels said about him before 2012: "Excellent power potential, but I don't like the problems he showed with the strike zone, 18 walks/70 strikeouts in 292 at-bats."

 

https://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/10/9/2479433/minnesota-twins-top-20-prospects-for-2012

 

Before his rookie season of 2013, Sickels called him "a masher" and "a Venezuelan Jason Kubel" and that is roughly what he eventually became (keep in mind that the league batting average fell about ~20 points between their respective Twins careers, and K rates went up).

 

https://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/10/29/3568278/minnesota-twins-top-20-prospects-for-2013

 

We see minor league "hitters for average" fail to transfer that to MLB all the time.

 

We also see minor league SS, C, and CF never sniff those positions at the major league level all the time.

 

It's a difficult game at the MLB level. I'm not going to assign personal blame to someone who struggled at it a bit, within the range of reasonable expectations. You can still be disappointed that he didn't do better without calling him a knucklehead over it.