Arcia knows it’s time for bat to be more offensive
Fourth in an 11-part Brewers position-by-position series. Today: Shortstop.
PHOENIX – Being designated the No. 1 prospect in a baseball organization can be a mixed blessing. It’s nice to be thought of as a special player but it also comes with expectations that can be difficult to meet.
Shortstop Orlando Arcia has struggled greatly to meet those expectations since arriving in the major leagues Aug. 2, 2016, with the Milwau
kee Brewers. His resumé came ahead of him, complete with a reputation as a defensive wizard and offensive promise despite free-swinging tendencies.
Fast forward to last Thanksgiving when the Brewers acquired 22-year-old infielder Luis Urías in a four-player trade with San Diego, with the express purpose of challenging Arcia at short while firing a shot across his bow. What went wrong?
“We did not have good shortstop production last year (.612 OPS, last in the major leagues), and we have been open about that,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said after completing the swap that netted Urías and lefty Eric Lauer for right-hander Zach Davies and outfielder Trent Grisham.
“For us to ultimately do what we want to do and be the type of team we want to be, production from that position needs to improve.”
The plan to have Urías challenge Arcia in spring training was derailed when Urías suffered a broken hamate bone in his left hand/wrist playing winter ball in Mexico and underwent surgery Jan. 28. He is expected to be out six to eight weeks, eliminating hopes of competing for a job in camp.
Asked what he thought upon learning the Brewers acquiring Urías, Arcia took the high road.
“My main thing is to make sure he’s welcome here, to make him feel at home and support him as much as we can,” Arcia said, with the aid of team translator Carlos Brizuela. “That way, he doesn’t feel like an outsider.
“He can help us win and it’s important to make him feel like one of us.”
How did it come to this? How did Arcia become such a disappointment at the still-tender age of 25? Struggling at the plate was one thing but Arcia also slumped so badly in the field last season, the Brewers gave utility infielder Tyler Saladino starts at shortstop in hopes of waking up the incumbent.
“It went backwards last year,” manager Craig Counsell said of Arcia’s defense.
“I wouldn’t say before that it was disappointing in any way. I don’t know if we have a great answer for it. It was kind of a lateral thing that we’re going to challenge, getting to things and completing plays.
“There’s definitely part of the defensive world where Orlando was close to the top. We use defensive metrics, and we trust them, but I think Orlando can get back to where he was. We had a pretty big swing, so I think we can get to a better place.”
Arcia eventually corrected his defensive course, going 50 consecutive games without committing an error, the second-longest streak in franchise history. But his offense never came around, leaving him with a .223 batting average, .283 OBP, .633 OPS, 15 homers and 59 RBI in 152 games.
Arcia always has been his own worst enemy at the plate, swinging too often at bad pitches, failing to force pitchers to throw the ball in the strike zone. In 1,676 plate appearances, he has drawn a mere 109 walks, with a career high of 43 last season. Suffice it to say his career .292 OBP and .652 OPS have fallen far short of expectations.
Only 22 when he arrived in the big leagues, Arcia has suffered the ups and downs that often go with being a young player seeing action on an everyday basis. But his bosses would like to see at least moderate progress as a hitter instead of the regression he has experienced since batting .277 in 2017 with 15 homers, 53 RBI and .324 OBP, which for him was somewhat promising. The backtracking included an awful ’18 season (.575 OPS) during which he was demoted twice to the minors amid prolonged slumps.
“In some ways, it’s in your favor when you come up young,” Counsell said. “You do get more slack. (With) how many at-bats he logged in Triple-A, he was a very successful minorleague player. I don’t think there’s any question about that.”
“He possessed a skill for quite a while in the minor leagues, not just at the end, that was above average – his defense. I don’t think we were too quick with Orlando Arcia as far as when he got to the big leagues. The offensive development just hasn’t happened the way we wanted it to.”
Some wondered if the Brewers would cut ties with Arcia over the offseason but he accepted a one-year offer for $2.2 million to avoid arbitration, and any notion he might be non-tendered. As for his career track thus far, he’s well aware that it’s time to get headed in the right direction.
“Obviously, things haven’t gone how I’ve wanted them to, but that’s part of it,” he said. “Now, I just have to try to find a way to keep improving and keep getting better.”
Of the looming presence of Urías, Arcia said, “Everything in this game is a competition. Whether it’s against someone else or yourself, you’re always trying to find a way to compete, to get better and to try and find a way to help the team win.”
To Arcia’s credit, he reported early to the Brewer’s spring camp, several days ahead of when position players are expected. And it wasn’t easy to pry himself away from twin daughters Isabella and Mia, born prematurely during the 2019 season.
But Arcia realizes what is at stake, and how much is riding on coming closer to meeting the expectations that accompanied him to the big leagues in 2016.
“It definitely will be a big year for me,” he said. “That’s why I came to camp early this year, to start working on the little things I’m missing from early on. For me, it’s just doing the little things and making sure I’m doing them well that way. Helping the team get wins is all I care about.”
Asked how much better he can get, Arcia smiled and said to the assembled media group at his locker, “I’ll leave you guys to see it this spring.”