San Diego Padres: Oswaldo Arcia’s Rollercoaster Season
By Joshua Mayer
Oswaldo Arcia has bounced around quite a bit this season. After being released by the Marlins, he has found his fourth home of the year with the San Diego Padres.
Recently designated for assignment by the Miami Marlins, outfielder Oswaldo Arcia has been claimed by the San Diego Padres.
Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune was first to report the waiver claim.
Padres claim Orlando Arcia from the Marlins, will start him in right field tonight. Patrick Kivlehan optioned.
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) August 27, 2016
This is just the latest in moves for the 25 year-old Arcia this season, who started the 2016 year with the Twins. After 32 disappointing (.658 OPS) appearances in Minnesota, he was designated and claimed by the Rays. In 21 decent (.772 OPS) appearances with the Rays, he was designated again.
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He was then claimed by the Marlins after star outfielder Giancarlo Stanton was diagnosed with a severe groin strain. Then, after Miami traded for Jeff Francoeur, he was once again designated and now has been claimed by the San Diego Padres. After landing in San Diego, his team changes have now made him move a total of 4,514 miles in the past two months.
After being a top prospect and former Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year in 2012, Arcia has bounced around as an out of minor league options outfielder with fielding and plate discipline troubles. His young age and power are most likely what intrigues teams to claim him though. His younger brother, Orlando, is a top shortstop prospect for the Brewers, currently being given his first taste in the majors.
Arcia slashed .241/.302/.441 in 200 games in his first two years with the Twins which included 34 home runs but also 244 punchouts. The raw power he displayed at such a young age is hard to find, hence why teams continue to call on him despite his defensive limitations.
He has accumulated an ugly -31 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) throughout his career which is accompanied by an equally ugly -23.8 Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR). His -16 DRS in his rookie year was fourth worst in all of baseball for outfielders.
Regardless of his deficiencies, the powerful lefty now joins the Padres outfield mix that includes the unproven trio of Alex Dickerson, Travis Janikowski, and Patrick Kivlehan, though Kivlehan was just optioned to make room for Arcia.
With the recent trades of Melvin Upton Jr. and Matt Kemp, along with Jon Jay and Jabari Blash being on the disabled list, the outfield is wide open. Arcia should receive ample at-bats to make a strong impression on Padres management to try to receive a contract for next year and hopefully avoid moving to a new city for the fifth time in a year.