May 25: Atlanta has released Arcia, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com. The infielder is now a free agent who is free to sign with any club.
May 23: The Braves announced Friday that they’ve designated infielder Orlando Arcia for assignment. His active roster spot will go to returning All-Star Ronald Acuña Jr., whose previously reported reinstatement from the injured list is now official.
Atlanta originally acquired Arcia from the Brewers in a trade sending righties Patrick Weigel and Chad Sobotka back to Milwaukee. Arcia struggled in 2021, his first partial season with the Braves, but Atlanta nonetheless signed him to a guaranteed two-year, $3MM contract to buy out his final arbitration seasons. A club option for the 2024 campaign extended their window of control over him by one season.
Arcia went on to have a solid showing in a utility capacity in 2022 (.244/.316/.416 in 268 plate appearances), and the Braves ripped up that prior contract to sign him to a new extension in March of 2023. That deal guaranteed Arcia a modest $7.3MM from 2023-25 and tacked on a club option for the 2026 season. At first, it looked like a masterstroke by president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos, as Arcia improbably made the All-Star team in 2023 while replacing former franchise shortstop Dansby Swanson, who had signed with the Cubs in free agency. His terrific first half gave way to some second-half doldrums, however, and Arcia has never recovered at the plate.
Arcia’s role as the starting shortstop has been overtaken by light-hitting but slick-fielding Nick Allen this season. Arcia has totaled just 32 plate appearances and gone 6-for-31 with five singles and a double. Dating back to August of that 2023 season, he’s batted a paltry .238/.292/.380 (83 wRC+) with a 20.4% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate.
As of this writing, Arcia is still owed $1.376MM of this year’s $2MM salary. His contract contains a $2MM club option with a $1MM buyout, bringing the total owed to him up to $2.376MM. It’s a light enough commitment, with an affordable extra season of club control, that perhaps a team in dire need of infield help would consider taking a flier.
The likelier outcome is that Arcia is simply released, as is the case with most veteran players on guaranteed salaries who hit waivers during the season, although if other clubs have interest in a trade, Atlanta could always offer to cover a portion of the remaining guarantee to further entice potential trade partners. The Braves will have five days to trade Arcia before they’re required to place him on waivers — a 48-hour process — in order to ensure that Arcia’s DFA is resolved within the one-week maximum timeframe. He can, of course, be placed on release waivers or outright waivers at any point prior to that.
As a diehard Phillies fan, may I be the first t0 say:
atta boy, Arcia!
Ouch. I don’t care who you are, that’s funny.
I find it funny that his production completely disappeared after making that comment back in 2023. Seeing him stick his thumbs in his ears and sticking out his tongue towards Phillie fans made me realize Orlando is 5 years old. Nick Allen took his job and Orlando wasn’t going to get any more playing time this year.
He’s had some other juvenile moments in the past. He seems like a classic idiot.
Major League Baseball Fan;
Lot of that going on in MLB the past 5-10 years.
The players are free to express themselves. What a country!
Unfortunately……
Literally took the job right out of his hands
Phillies fans are sadistic and abusive collectively (not necessarily individually). You poke and someone pokes back (barely) and you whine.
There’s a whole podcast episode on how horrible their fans have been historically. It’s called The Dollop, for anyone interested.
They were messing with Snitker’s wife supposedly and she said she would never go there again. She didn’t elaborate. Believe J.D. Drew got a battery thrown at him.
If ever they bring back the gladiatorial games Philly will be an excellent location.
Cry harder. Please share your “supposedly”s and your [I] “believe”s more, I’m enthralled.
Get over it.
@chiefnoc,
Yes, we are just the worst. We beat our wives and children, we don’t pay our taxes, we remove mattress and pillow labels, we drive slow in the left lane, and we don’t pick up after our dogs.
I, myself, once shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.
@Rishi,
Having a bad day, sport? Someone sounds like they need a hug.
Idk why you think that. You mistook observation for some kind of hostility. I am not upset. I wish no ill on any Phillies fans. I am merely stating they have many hostile fans. It’s like observing the weather and saying “sure is windy out today.” But to clarify (assuming you really don’t do those things) I said collectively, not individually. The loudest stand out the most in any crowd.
In fairness if I were able to take Phillies fans and sort of smush them together with braves fans you would have the perfect fans perhaps. I was always very passionate as a fan but I have a certain reservation about getting up and cheering. No doubt somewhat based on shame. I admire lack of self-consciousness in a way. So I could say Phillies fans are passionate but Fox and ESPN push that interpretation every playoff game without the shadowy side of it while only calling out Braves fans for being “quiet”. I could go into the psychology of why I think Braves fans are that way (collectively) bringing up things spanning the Civil War, slavery, and fundamentalist protestantism.
Never had the pleasure to make it to Philly yet, but would it be fair to say that Eagles fans & Phillies fans are the same mix of folks, or is one group a bit fiestier than the other??
@Rishi,
That’s very clever of you. Your personal mantra appears to be a mashup of passive-aggressiveness meets stereotypes are a real timesaver.
Ok. 1.thats not what mantra means. 2. I am passive aggressive, most people are. One is either passive aggressive and/or aggressive. Everyone has aggression. Aggression etymologically means “to move, to push ahead”. It is literally assertion and individuality. It is aggressive to state any vaguely original idea, for instance. 3. Saying “collectively” and “individually” would indicate I’m not throwing out blanket stereotypes. One has to try to pinpoint something and generalize in order to say anything. It’s discrimination in the sense that all thinking is. So you are probably right that I’m passive aggressive but since I identify as a Braves fan and I have felt/seen aggression from Phillies fans either at games, online, or on t.v., the most human, natural reaction to aggression would be aggression. If you denied that natural impulse it would turn to being passive aggressive. So in summary to my essay one would have to assume that I am being passive aggressive because some moral part of me is trying to deny the actual aggression that is in a way a logical response to the aggression of certain Phillies fans. Human all too human.
God bless you, Rishi. Your significant other must be a saint, and I mean that respectfully.
My long response was somewhat humor. My best to you too. This is like the Arcia thing I was talking about. You poke. I poke. You call me passive aggressive (rightly so). Then I respond to your passive aggressive comments. It’s like looking in a mirror. Boy I love me. As Joker to your Batman…I am nothing without you Batsie!
At least it’s always sunny in…
His 2023 production was never going to last; it was a fluke.
True but his production the year prior was also very respectable. Especially as a solid defender that can play multiple positions.
@Walk Off: That statement’s true about most players 2023 production. Live ball just like 2019.
Phillies fans should really like Orlando because he gives them exactly what they most desire-something to get rowdy about. Imagine all the fun they had yelling and posting stuff on social media all as a result of some silly incidents. This is why they stood behind the dugout yelling at the guys the whole series. They want a reaction. And he sticks his tongue out with his fingers in his ears (he could have flipped them off). Shouldn’t you be satisfied to get what you want? Honestly it’s amazing to me players don’t lash out in that situation all the time. Most of us on here lash out every time someone disagrees with us.
Hard to get fingers in his ears when they’re tucked into his hat like a 9yo wearing his older brother’s hand-me-downs.
That was amazing. He broke an entire city
Bwahahaha!
@braves9,
Yes, we still haven’t recovered from whatever the hell you’re talking about. It’s been difficult, so please be a lamb, and show some compassion.
he never recovered from the harper humiliation
Atta boy, Orlando.
Seems like a good Correa insurance plan for Twins.
If he ends up as any kind of insurance policy for any MLB caliber player, that team is in serious trouble. You’d be better off calling up someone from AAA or AA instead.
Speakin’ of non-MLB-caliber players, the Mariners have been running Miles Mastrobuoni out there a lot this year.
M’s get hooked on mediocre players sometimes, and they turn a blind eye to all their shortcomings. Abraham Toro was playing the same role as Mastrobuoni a few years ago.
If we sign taveras I can see us signing Arcia
Probably wind up on the White Sox… well actually, has he played for the Royals in his past? If not, maybe not…
Arcia could return to the brew crew
And on the day he has a .600 AVG vs. tonight’s SP so Snit doesn’t scratch that itch.
It’s insane how a contender like the Braves could neglect the SS position for 3 years
Yep. It’s infuriating. SS and LF have been black holes for a long time.
They tried LF but PEDs.
3 years? He was an All-Star in 2023 making $2M and getting a 2.4 fWAR. Obviously, he leveled back out after that, but still providing good defense, hoping that either Grissom or Nacho Alvarez could be the SS-in-waiting. Grissom’s defense was never good enough for that, and Alvarez is still TBD, but his defense is questionable and his bat in cups of coffee hasn’t been good. Also, SS free agents were overpaid (Swanson, Xander, Correa, Trea) with those contracts already looking bad.
Even now, SS position will be an overpay, unless you’re SD and your whole team is former SS, then you still overpay Xander (smh!).
Yea. He was actually a steal for the price. You don’t really need a good hitting SS when your lineup has so many high potential guys. As long as they field and aren’t atrocious at the plate. Nick Allen has been able to put the ball in play so much more and it sounds like an overrated skill but you really notice the difference when you go from one extreme type to the opposite extreme.
He’s a good defender with a mediocre bat. So is his replacement Nick Allen. They need someone who is an actual offensive threat not a designated fielder
Everyone would ideally like to have more. The Braves payroll has skyrocketed the last half decade. We are lucky to have all we do. Allen isnt just a good fielder. He is elite.
Back in the 1970’s almost every team had a weak hitter manning shortstop. My, how times have changed.
Don Kessinger was the poster child for the solid fielding/banjo hitting shortstops of the 70s.
Marty Perez!
I’m upping you one Roger Metzger and a Bud Harrelson for your Kessinger.
@Major League: …….and Sonny Jackson! Those Braves infielders in the early 70’s couldn’t hit. Woody Woodward @2B. Yikes……….
Vaughn Grissom didn’t grab the spot, which is what they hoped would happen when Dansby left. Nacho Alvarez hasn’t shown he’s ready to be a major leaguer, yet. None of their other SS prospects are anywhere near ready. There haven’t been any free agents they were gonna overpay for. It’s hard to get a good SS in a trade. It is what it is. The team can afford to have a light hitting SS as long as they add value on defense, up until this year Arcia did just that.
At least they won’t have him around to blame for all their problems now. Who will they blame next? Stay tuned!
Braves blaming Arcia? I’ve been a Braves fan liters since birth and I’ve never seen the Braves blame him for anything but being a lost cause at the plate. No idea what you’re referring to here
Blame? Don’t misconstrue ‘fans’ with the team. He was re-signed to backup’s deal and overperformed at the plate before leveling back out to career totals, and providing decent enough SS glovework to not have it taken away until now. While Allen’s bat is not much better than Arcia’s, his glove is better than advertised in one of the best in the league (10 OAAs already in 2025).
@Run: As of yesterday, Allen’s leading all of MLB w/his 10 OAA’s. Wish he had a smidgeon of power so opposing teams wouldn’t play him at Little league depth in the outfield, but the Braves have opted for defense at the position because, like you stated above, they really have no other in house options. Still glad they haven’t wasted salary on any of the FA SS’s that have been available since Swanson left.
My wish is that he works deeper counts and gets a few more BB. Arcia was so bad offensively because he didn’t do any of that, trading smart ABs for ~15 bombs.
I meant the fans. And no I’ve never heard anyone on the Braves say bad things about him either. I meant the commenters here. Braves fans have been bashing him for years. Sorry, I thought it was obvious who I meant. My bad.
We have a tradition of light-hitting shortstops. Rafael Belliard, for one.
Griffin Canning, obviously!
Brewers will take him back and move Ortiz back to 3rd. Then he can focus on his offense.
I cant believe I’m hoping for this.
Please…God…No…
They already have a “slick-fielding SS” who hits less than .200.
When you are out-played by Nick Allen…
Career OPS under 600 Nick Allen is out-hitting him ouch.
It’s Allen’s glovework (10 OAAs in 2025 already; Arcia had 4 OAAs all of 2024) that really is the selling point.
SweetBabyRayKingsThickThighs;
So you think that a SS’s OPS indicates his value to the team winning?
Nick Allen has stabilized that teams defense. Anyone that watches their games knows that. And he’s hitting OK….even gets some big hits at times.
You must have l0ved Oneil Cruz at SS.
How’s your rotisserie league team doing this year?
Allen is also outplaying Story, honestly. Hoping he gets hot soon. More likely scenario is he gets injured.
Nick Allen > Nicky Lopez, I think.
Still crazy he was selected to the all star game a couple years ago and the best shortstop in the 21st century hasn’t gone to an all star game with the Mets.
Andrelton Simmons never played with the Mets
Hear, hear!
Last year the ASG had to take someone from the Nats and so Lindor got screwed.
More like Pete Alonso.
Well in the first half he had a 784 OPS. That’s very solid especially at short but in half a season there are likely gonna be other guys who were doing at least equally well.
I a not a Arcia fan at all but he has done 10 times what Luke Williams has done or ever will accomplish at the MLB level.
Absolutely. So odd to dfa Arcia instead of Williams. There may be something else involved. Arcia is a big presence (of the clownish variety) in the dugout and clubhouse. I would think they would at least keep him over Williams.
You don’t run a team based on what a player has done in the past. You run a team based on what they’ll do for you in the future. Williams is a much much faster runner than Arcia, giving him value to a team as a pinch runner, especially with all the extra inning games the Braves have played so far. That alone gives Williams more value to the team than Arcia. You’ve already got Baldwin/Murphy, Verdugo/White, and Fairchild to pinch hit late in games. Arcia was the last guy on the totem poll. I think this move actually makes quite a bit of sense
Yes but even in those extra innings games you may want to pinch hit for Allen (as we have seen happen) and bring a good fielder off the bench (especially considering the infield is usually playing in). We saw Arcia make some nice plays in that exact situation recently. Fairchild and White are both fast. There are plenty of fast guys in the minors probably that could be Luke Williams types. Idk how good of a SS he is.
How many times has Arcia pinch hit for literally anybody this season? His upside isn’t much higher than Williams at this point. And in a worst case scenario where an infielder is going missing extended time, my guess is AA goes out and signs someone like Nicky Lopez who can at least pick it, and maybe makes a bigger move at the deadline. I just don’t believe in giving a guy roster spot who’s hiding behind a sheet of glass that says “Break in case of emergency”. Give me the guy that can at least pinch run.
I’m not saying pinch hit. We saw them pinch hit someone else for Allen and then use Arcia. Well the whole discussion is about extra innings which aren’t that common generally. You are so worried about who will end up being your third pinch running option while to me that bench spot is best reserved for someone who isn’t just a pinch runner but a potential important player (relatively) if someone is hurt. He’s the last guy on the bench. There are plenty of Luke Williams out there. There are less Arcias. Nicky Lopez may be one but Arcia has much more power.
@Fowler: Nicky Lopez is available right now. Elected free agency when the Cubs waived him last week. He can run too. The Braves would do well to sign him and release Williams. Good speed, good defense, and as poor a hitter as he is, he’s still better than Williams.
So you’d rather give a roster spot to a guy who literally has zero value to the team unless the worst case scenario happens over a guy who can help you win games right now, and provides some value to the team? I just wholeheartedly 100% disagree with that philosophy. If Orlando Arcia was irreplaceable, he wouldn’t be the last guy on our bench
More to the point tho what happens if Allen gets hurt? Are we starting Luke Williams at short?
For a couple days maybe, or you put Eli there on a pinch. He played short at Clemson and took some reps there in spring training. Then you go sign Nicky Lopez. I could you ask you the same question about Olson. Who’s playing first if he gets hurt? But we’re not taking up a roster spot just for that worst case scenario either
Well it’s not merely about getting hurt (and Olson is the least likely guy to get hurt in MLB based on history). And first base is far easier to play than SS. Surely White could play it. Nick Allen could easily crater like Arcia did last year.
@Fowler: Ozuna has been taking balls at 1B in batting practice since last season. If not him, Riley has also played some 1B.
Defense doesn’t slump. And just because Olson hasn’t gotten hurt doesn’t mean he won’t. Hit by pitch in the wrong spot. This isn’t Unbreakable. Allen’s playing at like a 3.5 WAR pace despite not hitting his weight. What’s the point of holding a roster spot for what essentially is a mascot?
Okay, but is that really any better than Luke Williams playing short? At least Williams is a shortstop and has played there a lot.
I don’t really care that much man. They can get rid of Arcia and Williams for all I care. It’s not likely to make a difference. I just assumed Williams was most expendable.
Arciya later…
This is strange. Who’s next on the depth chart at SS if Allen gets hurt? Not sure I understand the need to keep Williams and Fairchild over Arcia. At least you know Arcia can play MLB caliber SS if needed for a couple weeks. Maybe they’re hoping he won’t get claimed and they can stash him in AAA?
Arcia would have to agree to go to the minors and I doubt he would. The problem with Arcia is that his defense is deteriorating fast.
He’s 30 years old, a change of scenery might do the trick…
Great view from his couch.
Not an Arcia fan or Luke Williams fan, but seems to me that upper management made this decision to get rid of the immature Arcia along with his dugout antics to keep him away from Acuna. Arcia has done a lot of foolish things from the dugout other than the silly faces to Philly fans. Among other stupid things, I seen him get out of the dugout and run onto the field at the end of dugout near the stands to try to interfere with opposing player’s attempt to catch a foul ball by waving his hands and yelling at him! Good riddance to Arcia. Don’t need him around Acuna!
Just say you don’t like Latin players.
Who said anything about not liking Latin players? I stated that I was not a fan of Orlando Arcia OR Luke Williams. Luke Williams was born in Illinois and played High School Baseball in California! Does that make him a Latin Player?
You single out 2 Latin players being bad in the clubhouse and potentially influencing each other for absolutely no reason whatsoever.
@Fowlerrc I don’t agree with Al’s opinion, I think he is wrong. But he never said anything about Acuña being bad in the clubhouse or that Acuña is a bad influence on Arcia. There’s no bias against Latin players, only against Arcia.
Just say you don’t like white people.
Who said anything about race? I commented about a player getting cut and others comparisons to others should have been cut instead! Why do some people just come into the chat to troll and stir up stuff! I have not made any negative comments about any players race or ethnic origins! I do not dislike anyone! Get a life!
I was replying to Fowler. If someone sees racism in every interaction they generally are the ones being a racist.
Sorry about that Wade. It was posted under my post. Not trying to get into a comment war.
By “every interaction”, do you mean “one”?
What are the odds on Bichette being a Brave by years end? 50/50
ATL isn’t further depleting their farm for a rental that most likely wouldn’t re-sign with ATL in a buyer’s market for his position. There is no reason for him to extend (if he were traded) unless ATL overpaid, which is not happening, especially when they have what they’ve wanted for nothing (a glove-only SS in Allen). It’s really on the rest of the guys to wake up offensively (Harris, Albies, etc.).
They make trade deadline moves every year. This year will be no different.
Sure, quantity not quality. Even in 2021, their acquisitions were highlighted by payroll sheds. I can’t imagine the same year TOR spends 500M on Vlad Jr. they trade away Bichette.
Toronto hasn’t extended him and they aren’t world beaters. They most likely won’t have much of a choice but to trade him. Soler was making 16m a year when they traded for him last year. AA must be getting tired of not addressing shortstop at some point.I think there’s a decent chance on resigning him. I don’t see him getting a mega deal. There’s not much of a market for him and the Braves are an ideal fit.
Bullpen is a much much more important (and cheaper) priority for the Braves. For the right price, I’m sure AA will make some calls to the Blue Jays. But they’re not gonna participate in a bidding war
Every team addresses their bullpen at the deadline. It’s easy to get a couple bullpen arms at the deadline for not much.
I would love for them to extend Bichette, just knowing that ATL rarely spends (though they do like their trade-and-signs: Olson/Murph), but TOR also has been very stubborn on shopping him. Maybe with him playing well and having Vlad Jr under contract they’ll finally come to the realization, sliding Gimenez to SS. Now you’re convincing me. Dang you.
I would do it I were the Braves depending on Acuña looking more like the MVP then the year he came back from injury. All signs lean more to the MVP with the bombs he was hitting in AAA.
You would do what? You’re talking in a vacuum without any context of what that trade might actually cost the Braves to outbid everyone else. We’re talking about a rental player.
I would be willing to trade anyone not named Caminiti. No one else is going to make or break the Braves long term. Go for another world championship while the window is open.
AJSS plus Nacho Alvarez for Bichette? because that’s the type of package the Blue Jays want.
No thanks
The Braves are the only playoff team that needs him. AJSS is worth a lot more than Bichette. Let’s be realistic. Nacho Alvarez isn’t that good. Send him in a heart beat for Bichette.
Bichette’s agent must have visions of what might have been if Peter Seidler were still alive and overpaying shortstops for too many years.
@Mets: That scenario was talked about just yesterday in a discussion by Dan O’Dowd and Brian Kenny on MLB tv. Also talked up on talk radio in the Atlanta area—and Nashville—-since last season. Bichette’s going to be a popular target for SS needy teams at the deadline. Who currently needs a bat first SS more than Atlanta? Will the Braves FO value a bat first SS over the excellent defense off Allen this season? Questions……….
odds are 0.00001%
the 0.00001 chance is if the Blue Jays want to trade him for Arcia while also paying Bichette’s full salary for this year.
I don’t see Atlanta adding Bichette’s salary. Who are they trading for Bichette?
They’ve got a lot of good mil arms if Toronto’s looking for young pitching. No mil position players that would be attractive in trade. Don’t really think the Braves are looking to trade for Bichette either though.
From what I’ve seen of Arcia this year, he’s slower, his glovework hasn’t been that good and his hitting is bad, which the Braves need help with. Williams is a utility guy but not sure how well he could fill in at SS. Maybe if Allen got hurt they’d reach into the minors for temporary help.
Sign Nicky Lopez, release Williams. Better SS defense, runs well, neither can hit. Marginal improvement w/Lopez. Yeesh, that was hard to type………….
Fun Fact: Orlando Arcia has more World Series rings than Bryce Harper.
So what?
Thankfully he has that #11 gold and diamond charm to take to the pawn shop…. if it’s real
This means he will be an Angel/Halo by the end of the week. Because of Perry Minaasian and past relationship with the Braves, you can etch this on your kitchen table. You heard it hear first. Washington was also his former coach.
Brilliant.
The Angels have an incredible young SS.
ZACH. NETO.
It’s worth noting that Arcia was a top 5, maybe even #1, MLB prospect coming up for the Brewers. He just couldn’t put it together.
Cardinals for a backup depth!!
Perhaps the Crew picks him back up? They definitely could use even light production at short although I highly doubt he’d get much play over the younger higher upside guys already on the roster..but it’s be a cool “story”
Atta boy.
His .194 average would fit well with the Pirates
Finally. He’d be lucky If any team wanted him. He sucks. Especially shouldn’t have called out Harper bc after that he sucked
The two likely aren’t related.
I thought for sure Fairchild was getting DFA when Acuna returned. This was a surprise.
Thought it was 50/50 between Fairchild and Williams.
Nah, Williams is now the backup SS!
In 48 Hours: Braves sign Arcia to minor league deal
In a week: Braves are calling up Orlando Arcia
In 10 Days: Braves DFA Arcia
In Two Weeks: Arcia released
anyone know why baseball reference changed their innings pitched stat column? it looks atrocious
Now go get BB from Blue birds and trade the horrific Albies for peanuts
Atlanta trading for peanuts. Like carrying coals to Newcastle?
I really like that the Braves now have a hobbit sized infield
@RD: You must mean Allen and Albies in the middle. Riley and Olson are big guys.
Could the Mets take a stab at Arcia? L Acuna is scuffling enough to be optioned down for a spell, and Mauricio isn’t back to full strength.
Cubs. Then release Turner.