The Brewers and Braves put together a rare early season series in which three players in the respective 40s of the teams participated. The Brewers send infielder Orlando Arcia to the Braves in exchange for right-handed lighters Patrick Weigel and Chad Sobotka, by announcement of both teams. Weigel and Sobotka will report to the Brewers’ alternative training site.
While it’s a little surprising to see a brand take place so early in the season, Arcia’s role at the Brewers has diminished over the past few years. The hope was at one point that he would be the long-term answer in the short term, but Luis Urias now looks like the preferred option for the Brew Crew. Arcia also saw some time on the third base this year, but Travis Shaw reached the Brewers’ Opening Day rankings and is expected to serve as the primary option on the hot corner.
Arcia started his 2021 season 1-for-11, but he showed perhaps the best performance of his career last summer when he cut 0.260 / .317 / .416 through 189 record appearances. That said, it’s somewhat disappointing that the production would be a best career show for Arcia, as he used to be one of the top 10 overall prospects on Baseball America and MLB.com. Arcia’s glove always gave him a decent floor, but his bat simply did not turn out as hoped. By 1876 at the major league level, he had scored just a .244 / .293 / .364 bat with 42 homers and 39 steals.
Of course, the Braves do not have to have an everyday shortstop – Dansby Swanson the position is locked – but Arcia gives them an option with a solid glove. He has 4250 careers on shortstop, so it’s no surprise that Atlanta would be comfortable moving him to second base or third base.
Ehire Adrianza was fulfilling the role at the club, although there is currently uncertainty about his status. Adrianza recently left the club to look into a personal matter, and he was apparently testing the intake to return to the club. David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets that Adrianza is expected to return to the club by the weekend.
Arcia joins Adrianza, Johan Camargo and Pablo Sandoval as captain Brian Snitker off the bench, though the Braves may not carry as many backup fields at once. Both Arcia and Camargo still have a small league option. Arcia is the more expensive of the two, with a salary of $ 2 million to Camargo’s $ 1.36 million, and it goes without saying that he will get the nod if the Braves give a pitch to acquire him. At some point, acquiring Arcia could jeopardize the roster of one of the other rugby members.
Depending on how things play out for Arcia in Atlanta, he could be an option not only in 2021, but also in 2022. He currently has four plus years of major league service, meaning he will be controllable through arbitration through the 2022 season.
In return for Arcia, the Brewers will pick up a pair of optical illuminators, one of which was once considered one of the better arms in a pitch-rich Braves system. The 26-year-old Weigel finished ninth among Braves’ farm men on Baseball America’s list in 2017 and still finished 14th this past season.
His career was delayed by the Tommy John operation in 2018, but Weigel’s return in 2019 of the procedure created optimism. In 79 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A, the Fair worked on a 2.73 ERA – albeit with less encouraging strikes and running rates (21.6 percent and 12.5 percent, respectively). Weigel played just one game in Atlanta last year and allowed a few runs in two-thirds of an innings. This is his lone MLB look to date.
Sobotka, 27, showed a skill for missing bats, but also had problems with the Braves during three seasons. The referee has a fast ball that is on average better than 96 km / h and a pass rate of 28.8 percent in his career through 47 major league innings, but he also ran 14.2 percent of his opponents and three more pushed.
The trade gives the Brewers some flexibility on the site staff in a season in which most teams need more than ever before, but it also concludes the book about one of the organization’s most promising farm workers in recent memory. They are now handing over the reins to Urias, a former prospect himself, hoping for better results. While Urias himself has yet to achieve any major league success, he is more than three years younger than Arcia and has a much better record in Triple-A, where he scored a .305 / .403 / .511 series in 867 set up. plate appearance.
Jon Heyman of MLB Network first report that the Brewers were in talks to trade Arcia. FanSided is Robert Murray report that an agreement has been reached with an unknown club. The athletic Ken Rosenthal report that the Braves acquired Arcia, and Mark Bowman of MLB.com report that Weigel and Sobotka were on their way to the Brewers.