Milwaukee Brewers option Orlando Arcia, Jorge Lopez; Adrian Houser, Eric Sogard recalled

David Stearns does not stand still. He is always working to improve the Milwaukee Brewers. I suspect that today’s move(s) may not be his most popular, but there are solid reasons - feel free to agree or disagree!

Two days after manager Craig Counsell agreed that recent addition Tyler Saladino had played his way into more playing time, the Brewers have optioned Orlando Arcia to the AAA Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Arcia has been mired in a season-long slump, and his performance was analyzed by our own Kyle Lesniewski in this article.

Taking Arcia’s spot on the roster is another player that has struggled at the plate this season - more so than Lando. Eric Sogard returns, bringing his .100 season batting average and .344 OPS with him. Sogard slashed .229/.255/.313, OPS .567 at AAA, so he didn’t play his way back to Milwaukee. This is about getting Arcia regular at-bats in Colorado and working on his approach and pitch selection. Expect Saladino to take most of the starts at short. If his bat returns to his norm, and Arcia shows improvement at the Springs, this could be a short-term move.

In a less surprising move, the Brewers have optioned Jorge Lopez back to AAA as well, and righty Adrian Houser returns from AA to take his spot in the bullpen. This gives the Brewers a fresh arm in the pen and continues the last-spot-in-the-pen-shuffle that Milwaukee has been dancing all season.