Orlando Arcia

Orlando Jesus Arcia

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 165 lb.

• Debut August 2, 2016

• Born August 4, 1994 in Anaco, Anzoátegui Venezuela

BR page

Biographical Information

Infielder Orlando Arcia is the brother of outfielder Oswaldo Arcia.

Orlando was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers before the 2011 season when he was only 16 years old; the scouts were Fernando Arango and Freddy Torres. He played that season with the DSL Brewers, hitting .294/.386/.459 in 64 games. He did not play in 2012 due to a fractured right ankle, but in 2013 moved to the U.S. to play with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest League. Starting everyday at shortstop while just 18 and over three years younger than the average player in the league, he hit .251/.314/.333 in 120 games with 67 runs scored. In 2014, he moved up to the Brevard County Manatees of the Florida State League, playing a number of games at second in addition to shortstop. He was again in the starting lineup nearly every day, hitting a solid .289/.346/.392 in 127 games. He scored 69 runs, and compiled 29 doubles and 50 RBI. He stole 31 bases after getting 20 the previous season. In the 2014-15 offseason, he played a full season in the Venezuelan League, with 55 games for the Caribes de Anzoátegui, his hometown team. He was one of the youngest players in the circuit, over 8 years below the average age, but still managed to hold his own, hitting .265 with 7 homers and 28 RBI. He hit .188/.188/.188 in the 2015 Caribbean Series.

The Brewers sent him to AA in 2015, with the Biloxi Shuckers of the Southern League and he continued to improve, this time hitting .307/.347/.453 in 129 games, with 37 doubles, 7 triples and 8 homers. Back at shortstop full time, he scored 75 runs and drove in 59. He continued to flash good speed with 25 stolen bases in 33 attempts. He played in the 2015 Futures Game with the World Team. Pinch-hitting for Ketel Marte in the 6th, he popped up against Blake Snell. He stayed in at shortstop, Raul Mondesi Jr. moving to second base. He struck out against Carl Edwards in the 8th. After the season, he returned to Anzoátegui where he hit .312 in 31 games. He broke into the main top 100 prospect lists compiled by specialized sites, sitting #94 on Baseball America's list and #88 on the one published by mlb.com. Baseball America rated him Milwaukee's #3 prospect and he was named the Brewers Minor League Player of the Year.

He began the 2016 season in AAA with the Colorado Springs SkySox. In 100 games, he hit .267 with 8 homers and 53 RBI. On August 2nd, he was promoted to Milwaukee and made his debut that day starting at second base against the San Diego Padres, going 0 for 4 with a strikeout. In 55 games, he batted .219/.273/.358 with 4 home runs and 17 RBI. He spent his first full season in the Brew Crew infield in 2017, manning shortstop while batting .277/.324/.407 with 15 home runs, 14 steals and 53 RBI. Arcia's bat cooled considerably in 2018, and he returned to AAA several times during the season but was unable to right the ship. He regressed sharply to a .236/.268/.307 batting line while making his postseason debut, scorching the Los Angeles Dodgers by batting .360 with 2 homers in the seven-game loss in the NLCS. He spent the entirety of 2019 back in the bigs with more struggles with the bat, hitting .223/.283/.350 in 152 games. In the Wild Card Game loss to the Washington Nationals, he went 1 for 4. In 2020, during the Coronavirus-shortened season, he played 59 of his team's 60 games and hit .260 with 5 homers and 20 RBIs. He led the National League in grounding into a double play, with 10, but overall it was a pretty good season as his OPS+ was at 96 - the highest of his career. The Brewers made it to the postseason for the third straight year, but were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Wild Card Series; in the two games, Orlando went 1 for 7 with a homer.

He played in the first four games of the 2021 season for the Brewers, going 1 for 11, then in a surprise move was traded to the Atlanta Braves on April 6th, in return for two relievers with major league experience, Chad Sobotka and Patrick Weigel. The Brewers had acquired Luis Urias from the San Diego Padres in the off-season, and he had beaten Arcia out of the starting shortstop job. He was expected to move into a back-up role in Atlanta.

Notable Achievements

• NL All-Star (2023)
• Won one World Series with the Atlanta Braves in 2021

Further Reading

• Mark Bowman: "Pair of moves clear way for Arcia's nod at SS: Shewmake, Grissom optioned to Triple-A following Monday's game", mlb.com, March 20, 2023. [1]
• Adam McCalvy: "Arcias aim to realize dream of meeting in bigs: 'I think it will be amazing for us and our family,' Oswaldo says", mlb.com, April 18, 2016. [2]
• Adam McCalvy: "Counsell on Arcia: 'He's just getting started'", mlb.com, December 22, 2017. [3]

Related Sites

• Orlando Arcia on mlb.com
• BR Minors page