Twins Add Veteran Shortstop Depth with Orlando Arcia Signing

[NYCTK]

Lol. This team blows. 

[Fatbat]

2 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

You have seen this team and how they use veterans, and keep them around, right? 

I was responding to a post saying he'd be in St Paul..... If he is, he'll play. 

But I think they think he'll be in Minnesota....

Yes, vets on an mlb contract but Arcia is just a glove. More of a mentor than anything. He isn't blocking any prospect. 

[USAFChief]

3 hours ago, Fatbat said:

Never heard of a 32yo minor leaguer blocking any prospect that is 10 yrs younger and a 1st rd draft pick that could be knocking down the MLB door. 
Anyone worried about Arcia being on the 40man as or 4/1/26 doesn’t understand minor league depth signings. 

I'd put the chances of Arcia being the Twins utility infielder on opening day at roughly 100 percent.

Roughly. 

That's why he was signed.

He might not last the season, but he'll start it.

[LastOnePicked]

Thank God this team doesn't act in half-measures.

[Vanimal46]

13 minutes ago, LastOnePicked said:

Thank God this team doesn't act in half-measures.

Relentlessly pursuing winning 

[Vanimal46]

Classic Twins signing. A once former all star who hasn’t been good in 2+ years. Hoping they find lightning in a bottle 

[dxpavelka]

7 hours ago, Over The Hill Again said:

I want to be a “Lee guy” because of his pedigree but the product on the field has been a mixed bag at best. I don’t like his range and he’s part of dearth of team speed. I’m hoping some other option presents itself in next year or two, and guys like Arcia aren’t really a talking point. 

Can't really make solid judgements on a guy with barely 700 career plate appearances.  Need to see a lot of him this year

 

[dxpavelka]

Not a bad pick up for a team hoping to have a guy taking big steps forward in his first full season as the expected starter at the position and with another potential starter expected to make his debut this year.

[Fatbat]

30 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

I'd put the chances of Arcia being the Twins utility infielder on opening day at roughly 100 percent.

Roughly. 

That's why he was signed.

He might not last the season, but he'll start it.

I bet against it. Who is getting the boot off the 40 man for Arcia? Why add him to the 40/26 on opening day if he signs a minor league contract? As far as I know, Arcia’s agent can still find him a mlb contract at any time and he can jump ship to another team. 

[jkcarew]

Oswaldo is still active in the Mexican League…

…just say’in…

[JADBP]

This is just more total BOREDOM from Twins management.

But, here's the deal--we keep drafting (in the first couple of rounds) all these "superb athletes" listed as SS's.  How many of them have actually become good SS's?  I have a problem not with the Twins being forced to sign Arcia to back up weak shortstops, I have a problem with the management/coaching staff not being able to turn ANY of them into top shortstops!  When have we last had a top SS before the Correa debacle?  I liked Escobar, but I'd have to say Greg Gagne!  This is amazingly frustrating...how can we possibly be that bad--even with all these top prospects, we can't seem to get one good one out of the bunch!!!  Lewis, Lee, Polanco,  Nick Gordon, Will Holland, Marek Houston, DeBarge, WInokur, Danny Andrade (who has in our top prospect list for what...ten years now???) etc etc. 

So, here is my question:  WHY DO YOU EXPECT DIFFERENT RESULTS WITH CULPEPPER?  Don't bet on it!

[big dog]

Better title for this article:

Twins Continue Fetish for Cooked Players

[rv78]

Falvey continues to buy into the plan of having veterans available to plug and play. For what? Injuries. It looks to me...... he doesn't want the ship to fall off the edge of the earth if the supposed regulars get hurt, thereby having a backup veteran to fill in if that happens. It's brilliant! Lee goes down, Arcia slots in at SS and they don't skip a beat. Keep the floor intact. 60 wins is a lock. His current off-season plan is to keep the team from getting worse. Unfortunately he doesn't understand he's already shredded this team into has-beens and incompetants. All he's does is maintain the status quo, he's done nothing to make the team better.

[bean5302]

9 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

Can't really make solid judgements on a guy with barely 700 career plate appearances.  Need to see a lot of him this year

 

Lee shouldn't be entirely written off, but 700 PA in back to back seasons is getting to be a pretty solid sample size. There's a high degree of likelihood he'll never hit well enough to hold down an starting spot on an MLB team. I've seen enough of Lee already to want the team to be planning to supplant him. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

16 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

And we cut Fitzgerald because?

And then we have 

The moves this FO makes just keeps me popping the New Years Champagne!

I agree 100%.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

6 hours ago, JADBP said:

This is just more total BOREDOM from Twins management.

But, here's the deal--we keep drafting (in the first couple of rounds) all these "superb athletes" listed as SS's.  How many of them have actually become good SS's?  I have a problem not with the Twins being forced to sign Arcia to back up weak shortstops, I have a problem with the management/coaching staff not being able to turn ANY of them into top shortstops!  When have we last had a top SS before the Correa debacle?  I liked Escobar, but I'd have to say Greg Gagne!  This is amazingly frustrating...how can we possibly be that bad--even with all these top prospects, we can't seem to get one good one out of the bunch!!!  Lewis, Lee, Polanco,  Nick Gordon, Will Holland, Marek Houston, DeBarge, WInokur, Danny Andrade (who has in our top prospect list for what...ten years now???) etc etc. 

So, here is my question:  WHY DO YOU EXPECT DIFFERENT RESULTS WITH CULPEPPER?  Don't bet on it!

Noah Miller

[Patzky]

16 hours ago, Over The Hill Again said:

I want to be a “Lee guy” because of his pedigree but the product on the field has been a mixed bag at best. I don’t like his range and he’s part of dearth of team speed. I’m hoping some other option presents itself in next year or two, and guys like Arcia aren’t really a talking point. 

The Culpeper placeholder if needed

[Patzky]

15 hours ago, 1985Fan said:

Good grief! Falvey can’t find a glove first SS option that actually has a good glove! They cut loose Fitzgerald to add Arcia. I don’t understand the logic. Falvey is betting on Culpepper or bust as long term SS. Talk about putting all your eggs in one basket! With his track record of developing first round picks into MLB players, we’re in for tough times. 

Houston is the second basket.

[nicksaviking]

10 hours ago, Fatbat said:

Yes, vets on an mlb contract but Arcia is just a glove. More of a mentor than anything. He isn't blocking any prospect. 

Sure, but then why not just keep Fitzgerald? I didn't want him rostered either, but he's probably better defensively and it would be next to impossible for him to be worse offensively.

This move really seemed like Falvey was on a high after trading for (gulp) Wagaman and signed a guy just to sign a guy.

[Linus]

I’m not going to get worked up about it but the actual difference between Arcia, Kreidler or Fitzgerald is so minimal I would have just kept Fitzgerald and spent my time and energy on making the team actually better. 

[Woof Bronzer]

11 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Sure, but then why not just keep Fitzgerald? I didn't want him rostered either, but he's probably better defensively and it would be next to impossible for him to be worse offensively.

Falvey seems a bit confused here, if the goal is to "contend" then you need to get better players than the ones you have, not worse ones.    I thought part of Falvey's deal was modernizing the sabermetrics side to make data based decisions.  Maybe Derek doesn't have access to the statistics and sabermetrics we do?  

[JD-TWINS]

14 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Anyone to placehold for two months then Culpeper. 

If you want to know what I'd do..... keaschell at second full time. All year to see what he can do. Zero, zero, zero, OF time. 

Lee at short, until Culpeper had two months in AAA or Lee plays well. Lewis at third. Anyone as the backup that wasn't one of the worst players in baseball the last two years as the backup. 

It’s a MINOR league contract…….it’s not some huge strategic move to worry about. He’s passing along experience to young guys in St. Paul and available due to injuries if absolutely necessary. Can’t “hurt” anything. Not exciting - not a marketing move, just something that all organizations do at positions of need.

[JD-TWINS]

7 hours ago, JADBP said:

This is just more total BOREDOM from Twins management.

But, here's the deal--we keep drafting (in the first couple of rounds) all these "superb athletes" listed as SS's.  How many of them have actually become good SS's?  I have a problem not with the Twins being forced to sign Arcia to back up weak shortstops, I have a problem with the management/coaching staff not being able to turn ANY of them into top shortstops!  When have we last had a top SS before the Correa debacle?  I liked Escobar, but I'd have to say Greg Gagne!  This is amazingly frustrating...how can we possibly be that bad--even with all these top prospects, we can't seem to get one good one out of the bunch!!!  Lewis, Lee, Polanco,  Nick Gordon, Will Holland, Marek Houston, DeBarge, WInokur, Danny Andrade (who has in our top prospect list for what...ten years now???) etc etc. 

So, here is my question:  WHY DO YOU EXPECT DIFFERENT RESULTS WITH CULPEPPER?  Don't bet on it!

I get the frustration with numerous SS drafted high and no real results that meet expectations!!

SS are traditionally/logically good athletes and thus good hitters coming up from youth - amateur - college baseball. Nothing new here. Gary Sheffield & Henry Aaron are a couple former SS off top of my head. Drafting these types of guys is not unusual. Not getting ANY of them to pan out in recent memory AT SS is certainly frustrating.

[Vanimal46]

15 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

It’s a MINOR league contract…….it’s not some huge strategic move to worry about. He’s passing along experience to young guys in St. Paul and available due to injuries if absolutely necessary. Can’t “hurt” anything. Not exciting - not a marketing move, just something that all organizations do at positions of need.

Ty France also signed a minor league deal too. How did that turn out? We don’t know the terms of the contract yet but if Arcia is making $1 million or more he’s going to be on the MLB team. 

[Linus]

27 minutes ago, Woof Bronzer said:

Falvey seems a bit confused here, if the goal is to "contend" then you need to get better players than the ones you have, not worse ones.    I thought part of Falvey's deal was modernizing the sabermetrics side to make data based decisions.  Maybe Derek doesn't have access to the statistics and sabermetrics we do?  

This is kind of the point I’ve been repeating for a while now. Analytics are incredibly valuable and necessary. However what happens when you have that data?  You make a DECISION, on that hopefully fits into a strategic plan that has been tailored to the organization. It’s quite possible to be good at one part and deficient in another. I believe that is what we have with Falvey. In the end, you are graded by the quality of your decisions as they fit into an overall plan regardless of whether those decisions are based on analytics, a scouts eye or darts on a dartboard. You are judged by the end result. 

[DJL44]

10 hours ago, LastOnePicked said:

Thank God this team doesn't act in half-measures.

I didn't think "no half measures" meant "We won't make a move that could even be called a half-measure. All our transactions will be non-factors that are neutral at best or perhaps make the team worse".

[JD-TWINS]

15 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Ty France also signed a minor league deal too. How did that turn out? We don’t know the terms of the contract yet but if Arcia is making $1 million or more he’s going to be on the MLB team. 

He won a gold glove and was an average hitter, worked out well ……..it’s depth move with Arcia, period. If he’s on the roster it’s because circumstances deem it necessary - not because he’s making X $$.

I too, as another reader here stated, think that he more than likely has an “out” if his agent can find him an MLB deal ……… certainly after June 1.

[Scott51104]

14 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

You have seen this team and how they use veterans, and keep them around, right? 

I was responding to a post saying he'd be in St Paul..... If he is, he'll play. 

But I think they think he'll be in Minnesota....

Good chance

[Woof Bronzer]

53 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I didn't think "no half measures" meant "We won't make a move that could even be called a half-measure. All our transactions will be non-factors that are neutral at best or perhaps make the team worse".

One eighth measures or bust!

[Woof Bronzer]

35 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

He won a gold glove and was an average hitter, worked out well ……

So well in fact that the Twins ended the year on a 57-win pace.