Braves extend shortstop with new three-year deal

The Braves and shortstop Orlando Arcia are reportedly in agreement on a three-year, $7.3M extension that includes a club option for the 2026 season, according to Robert Murray of FanSided. The deal replaces Arcia’s previous contract, under which he was set to earn $1.3M in 2023 with a $2M club option with a $100K buyout for next season. Instead, Arcia will earn $2.3M in 2023 and $2M in each of 2024 and 2025, with a $1M buyout on the 2026 option, which Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports is worth $2M.

Arcia’s new deal will cover his age 28 through age 30 seasons, with the club option giving the Braves team control through age 31. That’s two additional years of team control for the Braves, who had already added an extra year of team control with Arcia’s previous contract, signed in 2021. With an AAV of just $2.43M, Arcia’s new deal should have minimal impact on Atlanta’s luxury tax standing going forward, though it does actually slightly raise the club’s 2023 payroll for luxury tax payroll, as Arcia’s previous deal held an AAV of just $1.5M.

Since the Braves acquired him from the Brewers early in the 2021 season, he’s acted in a part-time, utility role for the club, slashing .237/.308/.398 in 99 games since joining the club while logging time at shortstop, third base, second base, and in left field. In 2023, Arcia enters the season as the club’s everyday shortstop following the departure of Dansby Swanson, with youngsters Vaughn Grissom and Braden Shewmakewaiting in the wings at Triple-A.

Prior to joining the Braves, Arcia had previously played for the Brewers on an everyday basis from 2017 to 2020, though he slashed just .248/.297/.367 in his 483 games across those four seasons, good for a wRC+ of just 72. Over that time, Arcia was generally solid with the glove, though defensive metrics were mixed on his performance on a season-to-season basis. While he combined for +5 DRS and +8 OAA in those four seasons with the glove, which includes highs of +7 DRS and +8 OAA in 2018 and lows of -6 DRS and -5 OAA from 2019-2020.

Judging by his previous work in a full-time role with the Brewers, Arcia figures to be a below-average bat with an above-average glove at short for the Braves this year. That being said, there were positive signs in Arcia’s 68-game performance in 2022 that could indicate a new level of offensive production closer to average. In 2022, Arcia slashed .244/.316/.416, good for a slightly above average wRC+ of 104 despite a depressed BABIP of just .278.

Those improvements came on the back of improvements to both his walk rate and ISO compared to his 2017-2020 seasons with the Brewers. His walk rate jumped from 6.5% over that time to 9.0% last year while his ISO jumped from .119 to .172. That latter feat is particularly impressive given his full-time role with the Brewers came in a particularly high-scoring run environment compared to the 2022 season. If Arcia’s 2022 improvements hold over in a larger sample this year, he could prove to be an above-average two-way regular for the Braves in 2023. Should that not prove to be the case, the Braves will still have a long-term, quality bench option at their disposal going forward who’s still on the right side of 30.