The Atlanta Braves made the difficult decision to designate Orlando Arcia for assignment, which came as a surprise. The Braves mean business, clearly, and aren’t worried about what players have done for them in the past.
This is a different standpoint for the Braves, as they’ve signed multiple players in recent years who were part of their World Series team during the 2021 season. It’s been somewhat questionable why the Braves have given some of those players an opportunity to come back, but moving on from Arcia and others recently shows that this is behind them.
But releasing Arcia could mean that the Braves are interested in adding another infielder at the deadline.
The Idea Behind the Trade
In a recent trade proposal, they’d accomplished that by trading for Ezequiel Tovar of the Colorado Rockies. Tovar, a Gold Glove Award winner during the 2024 season, has been one of the lone bright spots on the Rockies roster.
“And Colorado’s gain is potentially the Braves gain as well. Because the Rockies already have a shortstop in Ezequiel Tovar. Bringing in Arcia could be about buying low on a player with an All-Star past and a certain amount of positional flexibility — he’s seen time at second base and in the outfield. Or it could be about back-filling Tovar’s spot ahead of a trade…
“The biggest issue here is that Tovar might be too expensive to get to Atlanta. Other teams with better prospects to offer could also be sniffing around if the Rockies put the young shortstop on the trade block. In that sense, Arcia’s addition could benefit one of those teams instead,” Alicia de Artola wrote.
Replacing Arcia with Tovar would be a step in the right direction for the Braves.
Tovar led the National League with doubles last season, hitting 45. His 102 OPS+ a year ago was slightly above the average, but factoring that in with Gold Glove defense, there’s plenty to be excited about. He’s currently hitting .284 with a 104 OPS+, six doubles, two triples, and two home runs.
Regarding Arcia’s future, he’s now with the Colorado Rockies, too. When speaking about his time with the Braves, he wrote a nice message about the team on social media.
“I want to take a moment to say thank you to the Braves organization, my teammates, the staff, and especially the fans. Wearing this jersey and representing this city has been one of the greatest honors of my career.
“From day one, you welcomed me with open arms and supported me through every high and low. I’ve grown so much both on and off the field here, and I’ll always carry that with me,” he wrote.
Arcia Garnered Interest Around the League
Prior to Arcia taking a deal with the Colorado Rockies after being let go by the Atlanta Braves, Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported that the New York Mets and New York Yankees were both interested in adding him on a minor league deal.
“Yankees and Mets both offered Arcia minor league opportunities before he got the MLB deal with Rockies,” he wrote.
Arcia will now have an opportunity to play at the big league level again, but this could be a perfect scenario for the Braves.
If the Rockies want to move on from Tovar because they have Arcia in the wings, it’s certainly possible that it could benefit them.
Braves Trade Proposal Lands Gold Glover After Orlando Arcia Decision