May 9, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of fireworks at Dodger Stadium after the MLB game between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
With Juan Uribe headed to the DL for the Los Angeles Dodgers, they have turned to a Cuban middle infielder they signed this past off-season to take his place on the roster. Good money would have been on it being Alex Guerrero, but with him out potentially six-weeks after needing to have part of his ear re-attached thanks to teammate Miguel Olivo taking a bite out of him, Erisbel Arruebarrena gets the call up to the show.
Arruebarrena is a 24-year old shortstop with undeniable defensive talent. When he first signed, I got my hands on some video and his defensive highlights were fantastic. He can go left, he can go right, he has a very good arm and soft hands. Basically, if the game of baseball was just defense, Arruebarrena would be a fantastic prospect, but it is not.
The limited tape from his time in Cuba was atrocious. His leg kick wasn’t in sync with is hips, which were not in sync with is hands, and none were in sync with the ball he was swinging at. In the very small amount of time he has spend in Dodgers camp and with their Double-A squad, his swing has improved greatly.
It has several fewer moving parts and has been generally streamlined, but it hasn’t resulted in results. In 25 games at Double-A he has posted a triple slash of .208/.252/.302 and played every inning at shortstop.
Hanley Ramirez has expressed his desire to stay at short for the Dodgers, so time will tell what Arruebarrena’s role is. He clearly needs as many plate appearances as he can get for his development, but for a team with World Series aspirations, his defense could be a huge asset in late innings. Justin Turner will get the start at third tonight, but it will certainly be interesting to see where Arruebarrena gets his playing time.