Arcia welcomes challenge of competition
No established major leaguer loves being told at the outset of spring training that his job is being opened to competition from another player.
But when Craig Counsell broke that news to shortstop Orlando Arcia on the day he arrived at American Family Fields of Phoenix, the Milwaukee Brewers manager was pretty sure what the reaction would be.
“The great thing about Orlando Arcia is he welcomes any competition you want to put in front of him,” Counsell said Saturday morning before his team took the field for a workout. “Any kind of competition, and he is very welcoming of it.
“That's a great trait that he has. It shows up for us, I think, late in the season and in the playoff situations we've been in the last couple years. I almost look forward to putting challenges in front of Orlando because I think it brings out the best in him.”
Counsell told Arcia that unproven Luis Urías would be getting considerable time at shortstop during camp to see how he handles it. That was the original plan in 2020 before a pre-camp hand injury and subsequent summer-camp stint on the COVID-19 inactive list sidetracked Urías, acquired in a four-player trade with San Diego the previous offseason.
Other than a couple of stints in the minors in 2018 when Arcia was struggling mightily at the plate and in the field, he has been the Brewers' starting shortstop since making his big-league debut on Aug. 2, 2016 at age 21. Last year, when nearly every other hitter on the team was struggling, Arcia held his own with a .734 OPS, his best in the big leagues, with five home runs and 20 RBI in 59 games.
Arcia is still young at 26, but Urías is three years younger and the Brewers believe he could be an offensive plus at shortstop despite a lackluster showing thus far (.226/.315/.320) in 124 games in the majors, including 20 starts at third base in '20.
Counsell told Arcia to be prepared to see action this spring at third base, though Travis Shaw has designs on winning that job again in his second goround with the club.
If Arcia is irked by having to compete for his job at shortstop, he didn't show it during a Zoom session with reporters Saturday morning.
“They bring other guys here to the position and Luis is one of those guys who can play the position, as well,” Arcia said with the help of interpreter Carlos Brizuela. “It's just part of it. At the end of the day, Luis can cover shortstop as well.
“Either one of us can play good defense in both places so you have to keep working to get better. And, in the end, the decision, they'll make it so we have to work hard and find ways to make the team win. So far, I'm comfortable at both positions. It's gone pretty well.”
Arcia and Urías are both athletic with good range, hands and footwork, so neither would seem to have a significant edge over the other at shortstop.
Counsell, who played all over the infield during 15-plus years in the majors, said the key to playing third base is your first move to the ball, getting your feet in the right position for a hop you can handle.
“I also think third base is a position of just accurate throwing,” Counsell added. “I don't think it takes incredible arm strength. It's just very accurate throwing that is a good trait for a third baseman. Any time we're going from the middle (of the infield) to the corners, I think we're getting better and we're getting skilled defenders as we move guys in that direction.”
As for Arcia taking on the challenge rather than moping about it, Counsell said, “It's a great trait. He is one of my favorites because of that. That's how he takes these things when you put them in front of him. ‘Put a hurdle in front of me and I'll climb over it.'
“That's kind of his attitude. That's a great way to approach these things.”
Coaches feeling their way
In another switch this spring, Jason Lane is moving from first-base coach to third – replacing fixture Ed Sedar, who had been there 10 seasons – and newly hired Quintin Berry is replacing Lane at first base.
“Everything is going great,” Counsell said. “From Jason's perspective, the best thing we can do for him is start playing games. He needs game action at that position. We've trained and talked with him. You can only talk so much about what's going to happen, then you have to experience it.
“The best way to experience things at that position is to really make mistakes. You learn more from mistakes at that position than from being safe, if that makes sense. Being conservative in holding runners. That's a big part of the spring for Jason, taking chances and testing your limits.
“Just like a base-runner going from first to third, you don't find out anything by stopping at second. You find out when you get thrown out at third what your limits are. It's much the same for Jason.”
Berry, who had a seven-game September stint as an outfielder-pinch runner with the Brewers in 2017, is in his first season as a major-league coach. He also oversees base-running and outfield play after serving as the team's minor-league coordinator in those areas last season.
“Quintin has hit the ground running, I feel like,” Counsell said. “I feel like we're going to be good at base-running this year. In general, I feel we have more team speed with adding Kolten (Wong) and getting Lorenzo (Cain) back into the mix.”
In his 29th year with the organization, Sedar is listed as an instructor on the camp roster but also continues to work behind the scenes keeping the daily schedule functioning smoothly.
“He's done a great job with the organizational stuff in the first 10 days. He's been a tremendous help, actually,” said Counsell. “He's back in his traditional role up in the tower (looking over the practice fields), which has helped me. That's caused this portion of camp to go really smoothly.
“He's done a wonderful job of it.”