Oswaldo Arcia

Twins Designate Oswaldo Arcia

By Jeff Todd | June 16, 2016 at 10:31pm CDT

The Twins have designated outfielder Oswaldo Arcia for assignment, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger was among those to report on Twitter. His roster spot will go to Danny Santana, who was activated from the DL.

[Related: Updated Twins depth chart]

Arcia only just turned 25, and isn’t long removed from being an above-average hitter in a semi-regular role. Indeed, he popped twenty home runs in 2014. But Arcia has long been considered a marginal defender, and he hasn’t been quite as productive at the plate of late.

In 114 plate appearances this year at the major league level, Arcia owns a .214/.289/.369 slash with four home runs. That comes on the heels of a 2015 campaign in which Arcia spent most of his time playing poorly at Triple-A.

All said, it’s a disappointing turn of events for both team and player. With no options remaining, Arcia needed to perform well enough to keep a roster spot this year, and that obviously hasn’t occurred.

Arcia could draw interest on the trade market or be claimed if he makes it to waivers. The question, really, is whether any team is willing to utilize a 40-man spot and put him onto an active roster. With just over two years of major league service entering the year, Arcia is playing at just over the league minimum and can be controlled for three more seasons via arbitration.

Central Notes: Singer, Stowe, Twins, Cardinals, Latos

By Steve Adams | February 10, 2016 at 9:54pm CDT

Many in the baseball world are mourning a pair of losses this week, as MLB.com reporter Tom Singer and revered Reds clubhouse manager Bernie Stowe have, sadly, passed away. MLB.com executive vice president of content Dinn Mann spoke to Pirates ace Gerrit Cole and manager Clint Hurdle about Singer, who covered the Bucs in recent years at MLB.com, as part of a thoughtfully constructed remembrance. Several of Singer’s colleagues, including Lyle Spencer, Tracy Ringolsby, Anthony Castrovince and Adam Berry, shared fond memories of Singer in a video tribute at MLB.com. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, meanwhile, has penned a tribute to Stowe, who worked for the Reds for 67 years, ever since joining the team as a bat boy in 1947. Crasnick’s column depicts how much Stowe meant not only to the Reds organization, but to the countless friends that he accumulated in the media and throughout the league over his remarkable career. MLBTR offers its sincerest condolences to the many friends and loved ones of both Singer and Stowe and asks that our readers keep the pair in their thoughts.

A few notes pertaining to the game’s Central divisions…

Twins general manager Terry Ryan recently joined 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson on his weekly podcast and discussed the upcoming season (audio link, with Ryan joining the show around the 13:50 mark). The two covered a number of topics, including the rough season for former top prospect Oswaldo Arcia, who is now entering Spring Training as an out-of-options player. “I was terribly disappointed in the year [Arcia] had, and he knows it,” said Ryan. “He’s got a lot to live up to here. I know he’s been in Fort Myers [home of the Twins’ Spring Training facilities] since the day his season concluded up there in Rochester. But, when you’re not a September recall, with the type of ability he has, there’s something wrong, and we need to fix him.” There doesn’t appear to be a regular role for Arcia with Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano locked into the corner outfield spots and Byung-ho Park standing as the early favorite for DH duties, but Arcia could still land a bench spot alongside John Ryan Murphy, Danny Santana and Eduardo Nunez.
Ryan also discussed the team’s lack of moves to add left-handed relief help this offseason, noting that there are a few internal options that excite him. “I’m looking forward to seeing Taylor Rogers, for instance, a left-hander that’s been with us for quite a few years,” said Ryan. “He’s going to get every opportunity to make this team. I’d like to see [J.T.] Chargois, obviously, grow into a guy you can count on. He might have the best assortment of pitches of those young pitchers that you guys read about it.” Ryan also indicated that there’s still the possibility of adding an arm from outside the organization, calling a trade more likely than a free-agent signing.
Although Cardinals newcomer Seung-hwan Oh had some difficulties obtaining a work visa in Korea, the right-hander now has his visa in place and is expected to report on-time, if not early, for his first big league Spring Training, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Oh, the all-time saves leader in the Korea Baseball Organization, will compete with Seth Maness, Jonathan Broxton and Kevin Siegrist to serve as Trevor Rosenthal’s primary setup man, per Goold.
Goold also reports that Matt Holliday has begun taking grounders at first base, though the veteran left fielder insists that the work at first was his own idea and is just being done in an attempt to increase his versatility. “I wanted to challenge myself,” Holliday told Goold. Brandon Moss and Matt Adams are currently the primary first base options for manager Mike Matheny, though having Holliday as an option there would only serve to strengthen the team’s depth.
Fangraphs’ August Fagerstrom opines that the White Sox got perhaps the biggest bargain of the offseason in the form of Mat Latos. Fagerstrom lists seven players with worse xFIP marks than Latos posted in 2015 but who averaged a total guarantee of $81MM between them. Of course, Latos comes with notable health and clubhouse concerns, but the White Sox have done well with such assets in the past. Fagerstrom points out that the Sox have an exemplary track record of keeping players healthy and haven’t shied away from adding potentially cantankerous personalities to their roster in the past. Meanwhile, J.J. Stankevitz of CSN Chicago offers a similar take, comparing the 2015 production of Latos to that of Jeff Samardzija, noting the similarities in their numbers but the enormous discrepancies in their contracts.

International Notes: Vargas, Ona, Twins

By Jeff Todd | November 17, 2015 at 7:55pm CDT

As we await the outcome of the Twins’ negotiations with Korean slugger Byung-ho Park and the posting of fellow Korean All-Star Ah-seop Son, let’s take a look at some other news pertaining to the international market:

Another exciting young Cuban player could soon be on his way to a major league organization, according to a report from MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. 16-year-old infielder Miguel Vargas — the son of former Cuban star Lazaro Vargas — has defected from the island with his father. (The elder Vargas is no minor figure in the country: he played on two gold medal-winning teams and was the manager and director of the Havana Industriales.) As Sanchez notes, Vargas is one of several younger players who will look to become eligible for this July 2 period (if they can secure an exemption) or the one that follows it. While most prominent Cuban players who have joined the league in recent years were older and more established, we seem to be experiencing an increasing trend of younger players looking to sign at the same age as their counterparts in other parts of Latin America.
19-year-old Cuban outfielder Jorge Ona falls in between the veteran types and the just-eligible teenagers. As Ben Badler of Baseball America writes, Ona took the sixth spot on BA’s latest ranking of Cuban talent, and he’s the best player who has left the island in search of a big league job. Ona is still waiting to be declared a free agent, but Badler says he stands a good chance of qualifying to sign during the present signing period. There’s new video of the youngster available at the link.
Twins slugger Kennys Vargas — no known relation to the gentlemen of the same surname discussed above — has drawn interest from the Korea Baseball Organization, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports. Selling the rights to the 25-year-old slugger could help balance out the team’s prospective signing of Park, who would in some regards take the place of Vargas in the organization. Club VP of player personnel Mike Radcliff said that moving Vargas “wouldn’t be in play unless or until we got Park done.” Of couse, Vargas himself would need to agree to a move and reach a contract with a KBO club. The Twins have been among the most active MLB teams in sending players to Korea. (From a player’s perspective, there’s often quite a bit more money and fame to be found abroad. Eric Thames, for example, has turned into a KBO star.)
Meanwhile, 24-year-old Twins outfielder Oswaldo Arcia has told the team that he is not interested in going to Asia at this point. “The player has to agree,” Radcliff said. “He has no interest in doing that. He wants to be a major league star.” Arcia is coming off of a tough season — he was demoted and struggled at Triple-A — but has shown himself to be at least a competent major league hitter already. While he’s also a poorly-regarded defender, Arcia would still presumably draw interest from other big league clubs. He may well end up getting a chance elsewhere, as Berardino notes that he’s out of minor league options.

AL Central Notes: Kluber, Arcia, Castillo, Tomas

By Mark Polishuk | January 22, 2015 at 11:29pm CDT

Here’s the latest from around the AL Central…

As far as Corey Kluber knows, his representatives haven’t had any talks with the Indians about an extension, the Cy Young Award winner told reporters (including Zack Meisel of the Northeast Ohio Media Group). “That’s not my job to worry about that,” Kluber said. “My job is to go out there and pitch. I have agents that can handle that stuff for me when the time comes. My job is to get prepared to play this season.” Kluber is one of the game’s best bargains, as he’ll pitch the 2015 season on a near-league minimum salary, though he’ll be in line for a large raise when he is arbitration-eligible next winter. Cleveland has him under team control through the 2018 campaign.
The Twins were granted a fourth option year on Oswaldo Arcia, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports, so they’re in no danger of losing the outfielder on the waiver wire if he can’t find a place on the Major League roster. Eduardo Nunez and Jordan Schafer are the only out-of-options players on the Minnesota roster.
Tigers assistant GM Al Avila told Mlive.com’s James Schmehl that the club had interest in Rusney Castillo and Yasmany Tomas and discussed the Tigers’ pursuit of the two high-profile Cuban free agents. Detroit checked in on Tomas though the club only had a moderate interest. “We liked him a little bit, but I’d say not to the same degree as Castillo,” Avila said. “We liked him. But, unlike Castillo, where we got involved in negotiations, we didn’t with Tomas. We didn’t see him as a fit.” While the Tigers progressed to the talking stages with Castillo, however, his price tag escalated beyond the team’s comfort zone.
For more Detroit baseball news, check out this collection of Tigers Notes from earlier today.

Oswaldo Arcia Changes Representation

By Jeff Todd | August 12, 2014 at 9:15pm CDT

Twins outfielder Oswaldo Arcia has switched agents and is now represented by Praver Shapiro Sports Management, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. He had previously made multiple changes, most recently moving to the Legacy Sports Group over the winter.

The 23-year-old Arcia has hit at a roughly league-average rate since reaching the bigs last year. Over 629 total plate appearances, he has a .241/.305/.417 slash with 22 home runs. Those numbers have dipped a bit this year, but he still looks to be a solid young option for a rebuilding Minnesota club. Defensive metrics have looked more favorably upon his work in the corner outfield this year, though he has spent just 1,218 total innings in the field.

Arcia is set to reach arbitration in 2017, unless he is able to qualify as a Super Two. He could reach that status, as Berardino estimates he will have 1.131 days of service at year’s end (even after a brief minor league stint earlier this year), though of course it is far too soon to know.

Rafael Montero, Oswaldo Arcia, Josmil Pinto Join The Legacy Agency

By Steve Adams | November 26, 2013 at 9:20am CDT

Top Mets prospect Rafael Montero and Twins youngsters Oswaldo Arcia and Josmil Pinto have joined the Legacy Agency, according to Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal (subscription required). For Montero and Arcia, this marks a return to TLA after being gone for one year and for nine months, respectively.

Montero, who turned 23 in October, split the 2013 campaign between the Mets' Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, compiling an impressive 2.78 ERA and 4.29 K/BB ratio (150 strikeouts, 35 walks) in 155 1/3 innings of work. Both Baseball America and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo agree that the right-hander is the No. 3 prospect in the Mets' minor league system, trailing only the highly touted Noah Syndergaard and Travis d'Arnaud. Mayo also lists Montero as the No. 97 overall prospect in the game.

A consensus Top 100 prospect heading into the 2013 season, Arcia debuted in Minnesota as a 21-year-old this year and became the youngest player to hit a home run while donning a Twins uniform since Joe Mauer in 2004. Arcia was a bit overmatched by Major League pitching but held his own, slashing .251/.304/.430 with 14 home runs in 378 plate appearances. He also saw 155 plate appearances in Triple-A, illustrating that he has little to prove at that level by hitting .313/.426/.594 with 10 homers in 38 games.

Pinto, 25 in March, burst onto the scene in 2013 with a .309/.400/.482 batting line and 15 homers between Double-A and Triple-A this season. With the news that Mauer is shifting to first base full-time, Pinto suddenly appears to be the heir-apparent behind the plate in Minnesota. He made his big league debut as a September call-up and turned plenty of heads in a small sample size of 83 plate appearances by slashing .342/.398/.556 with four homers and five doubles. He ranks fifth among Twins prospects, per Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus.

The Legacy Agency has numerous high-profile Major League clients (e.g. CC Sabathia, Carl Crawford, Aaron Hill, Edwin Jackson) but also boasts some high-profile prospects. In addition to Montero, Arcia and Pinto, TLA also represents George Springer, Taylor Guerrieri and Jenrry Mejia, as can be seen in MLBTR's Agency Database, whiche contains info on 2,000+ Major League and Minor League players. If you see any omissions or errors within the database, please email us at mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Prospect Rumor Roundup: Talking Twins

By Marc Hulet | May 23, 2013 at 10:30am CDT

Despite opening the year with one of the best minor league systems in baseball, the Minnesota Twins' collection of young talent continues to get stronger. The club's system entered the year as one of the top five systems, according to two different publications: Keith Law of ESPN (2nd out of 30 — subscription required) and Baseball Prospectus (4th). Baseball America had a slightly different opinion and ranked the system 10th overall.

When looking at the three Top 10 lists for those publications (Keith Law, Baseball Prospectus, Baseball America – subscriptions required), a total of 14 players were represented: Oswaldo Arcia, Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Kyle Gibson, Aaron Hicks, Jose Berrios, Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler, Danny Santana, Luke Bard, Travis Harrison, Jorge Polanco, Alex Meyer and Trevor May. We can delete both Kepler and Bard because they're in extended spring training and have yet to appear in an official game. Santana appeared on just one list (Baseball America's) and has struggled in Double-A. The highest profile name — outfielder Aaron Hicks — is hitting just .144 in the majors after being touted by some as an early American League Rookie of the Year candidate. The other 10 players are thriving in 2013.

Arcia, called up to the Majors in mid-April, has posted a .746 OPS while helping to compensate for the loss in offense as fellow rookie Hicks finds his footing. Strikeouts have been an issue for Arcia but his three home runs have put him in a four-way tie for third on the team in that category despite appearing in just 28 games.

Both Sano and Buxton were ranked either first or second on each of the three publications' top prospects lists. Sano, age 20, has produced an eye-popping OPS of 1.165 OPS in 42 High-A games. The fourth-year pro has some of the best usable power in the minor leagues and he's slugged 13 home runs, more than any other hitter in the minors. According to a front office contact, the young prospect is not just a one-trick pony. "Miguel learned a lot about patience at the plate last season and that's one of the reasons he's off to a good start," he told MLBTR. "He also has a very strong arm at third base and has made good progress defensively this season."

Buxton, 19, is in his first full pro season after being selected second overall in the 2012 amateur draft. After hitting .392 in April, the center fielder's average has dipped in May but he's flashing five tools and still getting on base at a .420 clip. The talent evaluator that spoke with MLBTR said Buxton's natural skills have helped him get off to a hot start although pitchers have started to make adjustments against him. "He's going through a learning process now since he's been seeing mostly off-speed stuff this month," he explained. "He will need to continue to develop that patience and be selective at the plate."

Meyer was obtained from the Nationals during the offseason trade that sent outfielder Denard Span to the National League. The 6'9'' pitching prospect has produced both above-average strikeout and groundball rates while settling in nicely at the Double-A level. When asked what has stood out about the new Twin, the contact stated, "Coming into a new organization isn't easy but Alex has adjusted quite well. He may have the best fastball and the best curveball in the organization."

Gibson continues to rebuild his prospect value after undergoing Tommy John surgery in late 2011. The injury slowed down his big-league timetable but he's looking good at Triple-A in 2013, averaging almost six innings per start. With three big league starters struggling – Mike Pelfrey, as well as recent demotion victims Vance Worley, and Pedro Hernandez — Gibson could become a key contributor by the second half of the year.

The 32nd overall selection of the 2012 draft, Berrios has produced solid results so far this year despite being one of the younger arms in his league. He has a 2.86 ERA with 32 strikeouts and just five walks in 28 1/3 innings of work. Another offseason acquisition, May was part of the package that the Phillies sent to the Twins for outfielder Ben Revere. He's struggled to retire left-handed hitters in 2013 but he's shown the potential to develop into an innings-eating workhorse.

Converted from outfielder to second baseman in 2012, Rosario has spent the early part of this year making strides at the keystone while continuing to hit for a high average in High-A ball. Harrison, 20, needs to tighten his approach at the plate but the third base prospect has flashed good pop with 21 of his 43 hits going for extra bases at the Low-A level. Just 19, Polanco is already in his fourth pro season but his first in full-season ball. The switch-hitting middle infielder is batting .325 with surprising gap power and solid control of the strike zone.

Twinkie Promotion

First baseman Chris Colabello was a surprise promotion to the big league club on May 22nd. He didn't make any Top 10 or Top 100 list this year but he's been an impact player for the Twins at the Triple-A level. Colabello, 29, hit .358 with 29 extra base hits — including 12 homers (the second highest total in the minors) — in 46 games. In his last 10 appearances, Colabello was hitting .500 (19-for-38). Perhaps in preparation of this call-up, he was recently given playing time in the outfield.

Born in Massachusetts, Colabello spent his childhood in Italy and played for that country during the recent World Baseball Classic. He went to a small U.S. college and was never drafted by a Major League Baseball organization. He signed with the Tigers as a non-drafted free agent after impressing the organization during a tryout camp in 2006 but was released less than a month later. He spent seven years playing independent league baseball before agreeing to a deal with the Twins prior to the 2012 season.

A front office contact told MLBTR that he wasn't shocked by the success that Colabello has had since signing with the Twins because of the consistent success he showed in independent baseball. "It was just a matter of someone giving him an opportunity," he said. "He has power to all fields, has a good plan when he goes to the plate, and stays on an even keel. He's a tremendous teammate and he's always working to get better."

Whether or not Colabello truly has the offensive chops to be a big league regular remains to be seen but he should at least be able to provide help off the bench while also backing up at designated hitter, first base and both corner outfield spots. The organization now has roster flexibility with the rookie — both in terms of positions that he can play and with his three option years. Should the need arise, he can be shuttled back and forth between the Majors and the minors for three seasons without the risk of having to pass him through waivers.

In a piece for USA Today, Ray Glier got reaction from Colabello after the prospect learned of his promotion.

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