Orlando Arcia agrees to one-year deal with Brewers to avoid arbitration, per report

The Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to a one year, $2 million non-guaranteed deal with shortstop Orlando Arcia according to Robert Murray. The new contract is a $200,000 discount from Arcia’s 2020 payday.

In 2020, Arcia showed a mark offensive improvement in his 189 at-bats, going from worst regular hitter in baseball to average for shortstops. He slashed .260/.317/.416 in 59 games with five homers. Despite the performance, he’s still just a replacement player according to his 0.0 bWAR. The 0 WAR is largely because of his -5 DRS.

Arcia has been on the roster bubble the last two seasons. He was tauted in the minors for having stupendous defense with an adequate bat but he’s barely showed either quality in his time with the Brewers. Despite the so-so performance, he is just 26 years old and has show flashes of greatness.

A non-guaranteed contract means that Arcia will only receive a portion of his contract if he’s cut before the start of the season. The further he makes it into Spring Training, the more money he’d get before being cut. Arbitration contracts are typically not guaranteed.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference