The Minnesota Twins made a quiet but wild roster move Friday night, cutting ties with former All-Star shortstop Orlando Arcia from his minor league contract. This wasn’t some minor league nobody, but a player with serious pedigree, though he wasn’t on the Major League roster at the time of the release.
From All-Star Glory to Minor League Release
Arcia, an 11-year veteran, has seen a lot of baseball. He spent his first six seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers before a seriously successful run with the Atlanta Braves. That’s where he helped them snag the World Series in 2021 and earned an All-Star nod in 2023. Pretty legit, right? But with the Twins this season, he only made 19 appearances earlier on and has been in Triple-A since June. Talk about a fall from grace for a guy who was just an All-Star last year.
What This Means For His Next Opportunity
According to Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune, the St. Paul Saints activated Kaelen Culpepper from the 7-day IL, and Arcia was the corresponding move. It’s a head-scratcher when you look at the Twins’ bench. Charlie Wright of MLB Trade Rumors pointed out that their bench doesn’t even have a middle infielder, unless you count Austin Martin, who played four games at second base in 2025. Wright even said the roster “maybe could’ve used Arcia.” In his 50 trips to the plate this season, the 31-year-old put up a .271/.300/.354 slash line with one home run and a .654 OPS. Now, Arcia’s hitting the market. A former World Series champ and All-Star available mid-season? Some team is gonna scoop up that veteran experience, no doubt. Who’s gonna make the move?
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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