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| Oswaldo Arcia struck out 46 times in 114 plate appearances this year. |
Arcia was the first to run out of chances. He was designated for assignment Thursday night to make room on the roster for Santana, who is ready to be reactivated from the disabled list after his second hamstring injury of the season.
I saw this coming last winter and said so repeatedly. Arcia is just 25, and he has genuine power. That is the sum and total of his positives. On the other side of the ledger, he's an awful defensive outfielder, his strike zone issues are significant, he hasn't hit lefties much and he's not much of a base runner. And he wasn't getting better at any of those things.
Santana is a flawed player also. But he has a wider set of tools. He can run. He can throw. He switch hits. He can play infield and outfield. There are, in short, more things the manager can put him in the lineup to do than there is with Arcia.
That makes him a better bench piece than Arcia. And neither could be projected as a regular at this point. Arcia does not deserve playing time over the likes of Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Miguel Sano, Robbie Grossman or Eddie Rosario.
Neither, for that matter, does Santana.
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I surmised earlier that Glen Perkins' pending visit to noted orthopedic surgeon Neal ElAttrache suggested that the three-time All-Star wasn't likely to pitch again this season, and so it is. ElAttrache is to attempt to repair Perkins' frayed labrum in the next seven to 10 days.
The hope is that Perkins will be back next year. But shoulder surgeries are tricky; as a general thing, shoulders are to be maintained and elbows repaired. It was, you may recall, a frayed labrum that drove Brad Radke into retirement at age 33. Perkins happens to be 33 now himself.
It would be unwise to count on Perkins as a key bullpen piece in the future. If it happens, great. But the Twins shouldn't plan on it.
Agree with your points on Arcia. The demotion is the result of his lack of tools.
ReplyDeleteI am in sympathy with those who fail, especially when they try so hard.
If he lacks tools to play the position, he cannot be on the team.
Sorry to see him go, because by all accounts he seemed to work hard to overcome weaknesses. But, the Twins have too many subpar performances to carry another part-time DH.