Wilkins Arias

Wilkins Arias

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 155 lb.

• Born November 4, 1980 in San Cristobal, San Cristobal D.R.

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Left-handed pitcher Wilkins Arias had a long minor league career. He was originally signed by the New York Yankees as an international amateur free agent from the Dominican Republic in June of 2005, by which time he was already 25. He did very well for the Charleston RiverDogs of the South Atlantic League that first year, going 9-6, 3.01 in 31 games. Moved to the bullpen full-time in 2007, he was 6-3, 4.59 in 41 games for the Tampa Yankees of the Florida State League and in 2008, after starting out 4-0, 2.61 in 29 games for Tampa, earned a promotion to the Trenton Thunder of the AA Eastern League where he pitched another 11 games.

In 2010, he spent a full year with Trenton after attending spring training with the big league team, going 4-3, 3.65 in 57 games with 70 strikeouts in 67 2/3 innings as he was being groomed as a potential major league LOOGY. He climbed one more step on the ladder in 2011 when he pitched 1 game for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees of the International League after another good season with Trenton, in which he was 4-1, 2.31 in 29 games. However, that was as high as he would go in the affiliated minors. He became a free agent after the season and in 2012, he was pitching in the Mexican League, splitting the season between the Broncos de Reynosa and Sultanes de Monterrey, going 6-3, 2.48 with 11 saves in 61 games, the third-highest number of games pitched in la Liga that season after Juan Sandoval and Sandy Nin, who made 67 and 65 appearances, respectively. In 2013 with Monterrey, he was 6-2, 3.84 in 32 games as a swingman, making his first 12 starts since 2009. The Sultanes made it to the league finals that season, but in the deciding game on August 29th, he was rocked by the Tigres de Quintana Roo, allowing two-run homers to Jorge Vázquez and finals MVP Albino Contreras in a 5-2 loss. He returned for one more season in the Mexican League in 2014, splitting it between the Toros de Tijuana and Rieleros de Aguascalientes and finishing at 1-1 with an ERA just over 5.00 in 39 innings.

In addition to his pitching in the U.S. minors and Mexico, he was a regular participant in winter ball in the Dominican League, with the Aguilas Cibaenas and Estrellas de Oriente. He was particularly effective as a reliever for the Aguilas from 2009-2014, going 7-1 with 3 saves during that span. In December of 2010, he was suspended for the remainder of the season by the Dominican League when it was alleged that he had faced one batter for Aguilas Cibaenas when not officially on the team's roster. However, the Players' union found the punishment excessive and unfair, since it was the team's mistake and not Arias's, and went on strike on December 17th. The league had in fact already reverted the suspension, but a day's worth of games were cancelled before the news could be transmitted to the striking players.