The Minnesota Twins have been pretty quiet in free agency this offseason, but they did make a trade to add a bat on Friday. Eric Wagaman looks like a platoon fit at first base alongside Josh Bell. The bullpen still needs tending to, but Derek Falvey has time to keep adding talent.
After the Wagaman deal on Friday, the Twins didn’t have a backup shortstop on the 40-man roster. Ryan Fitzgerald was designated for assignment, and that left Brooks Lee with no depth behind him. Falvey addressed that on Saturday in signing Orlando Arcia.
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Orlando Arcia joins the Twins on a MiLB deal
Last season began with Carlos Correa as the unquestioned starter at shortstop. The Minnesota Twins dumped him for nothing, and the every day role is now Brooks Lee’s to assume. There still needs to be depth, and veteran Orlando Arcia represents that.
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Orlando Arcia spent last season with the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies. He’s a 10-year veteran that was once a top-10 prospect in all of baseball.
Across 76 games last season, Arcia batted .202/.238/.291. His 42 OPS+ was horrendous, and it’s a surprise he got the run at the major league level that he did.
In 2024, Arcia was the every day shortstop for the Braves. He had just a 73 OPS+ but still launched 17 home runs and had 24 doubles.
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Arcia is a right-handed hitter, but has neutral splits. With Lee being a switch hitter, and possessing a higher ceiling, the expectation should be that Arcia would simply represent a bench bat that fills in as Ryan Fitzgerald did down the stretch last season.
The defensive aptitude is what the MN Twins are relying on here, and why he has had a decade-long career. As the Braves regular in 2024, he posted 4 OAA (outs above average) and 3 FRV (fielding run value).
Arcia brings MN Twins back in the family
It’s something of a full circle moment for the Minnesota Twins to sign Arcia. He is 31 years old, and the younger brother of former slugging outfielder Oswaldo Arcia. Oswaldo is just 34 years old, but has not played in the majors since 2016. He spent four seasons with the Twins.
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The elder Arcia is still playing professionally, and was in the Mexican League last year. He had 15 home runs in 104 games but batted just .190/.346/.382.
The ship has sailed on a return stateside for him given the production, but there was a two-season stretch in 2013 and 2014 where he hit 34 home runs with Minnesota. He had a career-best 113 OPS+ in 2014 before being sent to Triple-A in 2015.
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