Twins Designate Oswaldo Arcia

Arcia only started in 12 of the Twins 24 games in April.

In his first 3 games, Arcia went 0-9, so he didn't start out hot, but for the month, he had an OPS of .724 in 12 starts. which was 5th best on the team.

Arcia started 11 of 28 Twins games in May.

 

It's pretty hard to argue that Arcia got any sort of extended look. And even with irregular play, his offensive output was much better than many established regulars and some metrics indicate that he had made strides in improving his plate approach.

 

People keep bringing up Arcia's struggles vs. LHPs. In point of fact, Arcia has done extremely well against lefties relative to his career numbers against southpaws- in a small sample size, he actually significantly outperformed his 2016 numbers vs. RHPs .  .702 OPS 115 OPS+

 

As I said above, It's hard to maintain that Arcia got a fair shot as a starter and blew it. It was extremely strange roster construction on Terry Ryan's part to start the season with Arcia as a 4th or platoon OFer, as well as the # 4/5 option on the DH depth chart (Arcia DH'd one game this season). There was no way that he should have been in LF in the first place- where he had little experience, what with RF meanwhile manned by a guy who had NO OF experience- and centered by Buxton, who most of us agreed in the offseason was not going to be major league ready on April 1.

As usual, I agree with most everything you say here.  It is sad that we are giving him away for nothing especially given his age and potential. And yet on the other hand I don't see him as a good fit on this team.  He doesn't have a great eye at the plate. He doesn't field any position well.  Given his splits he looks like a platoon player.  So basically he could be a DH with no real position flexibility.  I just think the Twins can do better than that.  If they had a crappy farm system I would say this is a huge mistake but they have Vargas, Walker and Palka in the wings as well and if Grossman is the find he appears to be I think they all are as good if not better options than Arcia at least at this point.  

While I am sad to see him go and have success elsewhere we can't keep everybody.  It is a waste that they did not develop him properly and will get nothing back. I cannot defend that, but at the same time I think it is time to move on.

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


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

Hanging in the weeds for that response, weren't ya   

Well played!

Arcia is a flawed player. He was terrible last year, but he absolutely can play at the major league level. I'm not sure how many organizations can just throw away 30+ HR power but I know the Twins aren't in a position to do that. Its frustrating that they'll give up talent and get nothing back. Its going to be even more maddening to watch him hit homers for another team. The most infuriating part though is the fact that a 20-46 team couldn't find a way to get Arcia consistent ABs before making a final decision on him. It blows my mind. Buxton and Kepler were both sent down this year, while Sano and Santana have been hurt. Grossman was signed less than a month ago, and yet Arcia couldn't sneak in some relatively consistent playing time? To top it off you have multiple position players with options (Park, Kepler) and a handful of scrub pitchers (Boshers, Ramirez) who nobody will lose sleep over if they're gone. I don't think Arcia is going to be Ortiz 2.0, but I do think he's a talented player who shouldn't be tossed out. 

Arcia is a victim of poor management of the 40 man roster. I think Arcia was further victimized by poor lineup management by Paul Morlitor.

I wish Arcia nothing but the best. 

Gad, could we be looking at Ortiz 2.0?

I don't really understand the irrational love for D Santana in this organization. As others have mentioned, defensive flexibility and speed, D Santana's only positive traits, are found every day on the waiver wire...

Hated Arcia's bone headed plays in the OF, but still loved the potential. This team is not that talented where they can afford to give away someone with 20+ HR potential like this. His talents were utilized very poorly on the Twins. It may take another year or 2 a la Valencia, but some team is going to utilize Arcia the right way and reap the benefits.

I don't get it either.

Let's compare Arcia to Grossman.

Arcia

Minors: 2119 PA, 297/358/517 for a 875 OPS (8 seasons)

Majors: 967PA, 240/303/429, 732 OPS (4 seasons)

Grossman

Minors: 3371PA, 271/379/392, 771OPS (9 seasons)

Majors: 870PA, 249/342/370, 712OPS (4 seasons)

All told, Arcia out OPS's Grossman 832 to 765.

For a team that generally is loyal to their players, why are they throwing away a player they have had in their system for a decade, in favor of an inferior player who happened to have a good 100 at bats?