Keep Playing? Oswaldo Arcia Continues To Battle Injuries In Venezuela

Rest... the way he swings, a back injury is a little scary. The Twins should step in, in my opinion. His bat is what gives us all hope for him and his power can be elite. Take care of your back!!

JB's point about Arcia's nagging injuries is a good one - I lean towards saying let him play, but I guess if sitting him will help him heal fully, that will be better for Arcia and for the Twins in the long run.

Truthfully I think it is difficult to gauge when not following the team on a regular basis. I don't know if the Twins have contacts following the team and providing updates [that's a good question for JACK GOIN] but if I am the front office, I might be more inclined to encourage Arcia sit out the rest of the year. 

Again, if it is mild and he's 90-to-100% when he returns to play, great. But I do wonder if the urge to play in the postseason in front of his family/friends/countrymen would make him try to play again at less than that. 

Back problems also plagued Arcia during the 2014 season, so it's concerning that they have lingered into the winter.

I'm surprised the Twins haven't stepped in. 

Even if he was totally healthy, I still would think it is crazy for him to play baseball in the offseason.

That's my feelings on this. I get that he needs to improve in areas and that's probably the benefit of additional time but, man, he's someone you want at 100% for next season. 

How often do other established major leaguers do this?

Certainly not a lot of players who have multi-year contracts. I don't know what constitutes "established" but players like the Cubs' Junior Lake (580 MLB PA over last two seasons) go to play -- those that may need to work on a couple of things.

I'll go Bad News Bears on the bit....

"Let him play! Let him play!"

(Provided he feels up to it.)

Rest. If healthy, go shag balls in LF someplace. But rest.

Yes. The outfield defense definitely needs work. I like what Molitor said about his defense during the winter meeting:

I watched how Scottie worked with him last year in the outfield, and they’ll go out there in right field and Scottie will hit balls in corner and say this ball is a double. Your objective is not to play it into a triple. During the game someone will hit it down the line and he’ll try to slide and stop the ball before it gets into the corner and it turns a double into a triple.

Some of it is just controlling. We talk about having control of your emotions in the batter’s box, on the bases, on the mound, in the outfield and making the play. I think he’s an emotional guy that sometimes situations and things get away from him. Part of that is your judgment on when to try to make a play and when not to try to make a play. We all know there is a time to dive for a ball and a time when okay we’ll give up the single, but I can’t let this guy get a triple. But he’s learning that. He works at it. I think like you said earlier, he wants to be more than just a slugger.

 

Arcia has a great swing that is powerful but does not need to be violent.

I don't know if it is a "great" swing but it has power. This past September when everyone stopped caring about Twins baseball, I looked at his swing and the changes he's been trying to make:

http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins/twins-trying-to-make-oswaldo-arcia-a-complete-hitter-r3045

But there's more:

http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins/oswaldo-arcia-and-crushing-in-august-r3001

I'm hoping he develops to his potential but there are flaws in his mechanics that have hindered him. 

.917 career OPS in the minors on the back of a .314 average.   His power has developed as a result of his physique.  I am guessing his average has regressed as a result of his psyche.

Those might be factored in somewhat but, ultimately, his swing from the minors to the major is different:

http://i.imgur.com/AoaBdR0.gif

http://i.imgur.com/4IOzAsG.gif

As such, the results are going to be different. 

Maybe I'm taking exception to the label of "great" considering Arcia is in the lineup with Joe Mauer and if Arcia has a "great" swing, where are we classifying Mauer's? 

Bottom line is I agree that Arcia has the ability to put a charge into the ball. The swing/mechanics need polishing. The Twins were hip to that last year and he made strides. Once those adjustments are made Arcia will find plenty of success. 

One thing I noticed right off the bat watching his different swings is how much more pronounced his hands dropping is.

Right, the hand drop is just one of the things the Twins were trying to correct during the season. He was unable to get to anything up in the zone because of this. 

I would also direct your attention to the head movement between the two swings. With the Twins, his head changes planes in a significant way. Hard to stay on the ball like that.

Per Twitter, Arcia will return to the lineup on Saturday. He's been ready but has requested Thursday/Friday off because of a death in the family:

https://twitter.com/Vigoto/status/553271486010908674

Interesting note from an article on Arcia's return: Arcia was asked if the Minnesota Twins had contacted him when he was out of action. "They (Twins) have not called me, they always tell me to play far as it goes," Arcia said. "You're always waiting for a call, but so far has not happened."

I find it interesting that the Twins did not reach out after Arcia became hurt. He's a starter. You would think you would want to know the situation.