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Joaquin Arias

Diamondbacks Release Joaquin Arias

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The Diamondbacks have released infielder Joaquin Arias, as per the club’s official Twitter feed.  The veteran had been in Arizona’s camp on a minor league contract.

Arias had appeared in parts of eight MLB seasons since 2006, with the majority of his action coming in the form of 321 games played with the Giants from 2012-14.  Arias played primarily at third base in San Francisco but also saw significant time at second and short.  While he didn’t hit much (a .644 OPS in 784 PA) during that stint, Arias was a valuable utility piece for the Giants and he earned two World Series rings along the way.  He only appeared in 40 games for the club in 2015 and was outrighted off the 40-man roster in August.

The Diamondbacks’ crowded infield situation made it difficult for Arias to find a job.  Jean Segura, Chris Owings and Jake Lamb are slated to start with Nick Ahmed, Brandon Drury and Phil Gosselin all in the mix for backup roles, leaving Arias with no room.

Diamondbacks To Sign Joaquin Arias To Minors Deal

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The Diamondbacks have agreed to sign infielder Joaquin Arias to a minor league contract, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Arias will be invited to Arizona’s big league Spring Training camp.

Arias, 31, has spent the last four years as a utility infielder for the Giants, hitting .262/.286/.346 over 843 plate appearances with San Francisco (plus a cool 5-for-12 over 12 career postseason PA for two of the Giants’ World Series-winning teams.)  He’s seen lots of time at second, third and short with defensive metrics indicating that the hot corner is his best defensive position.  Arias played in only 40 games in 2015, and was both designated for assignment and then outrighted off San Francisco’s 40-man roster last summer.

Playing time could be hard to come by for Arias in Arizona since the D’Backs are already deep in infield options.  The signing could be a hint that the Snakes are planning to move another infielder, or (perhaps more likely) Arias is being signed to provide Triple-A depth.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/4/2015

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We’ll track the day’s minor moves here:

  • The Giants announced today that infielder Joaquin Arias has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A (Twitter link). The versatile 30-year-old hit just .207/.207/.276 in 59 plate appearances in 2015 — the second season of a two-year, $2.6MM contract he signed to avoid arbitration following the 2013 season.
  • Left-hander Aaron Laffey has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A, tweets MLB.com’s Dargan Southard. Lackey will have the option to reject the assignment in favor of free agency. The veteran lefty pitched 7 1/3 innings for the Rockies this season, allowing three runs on eight hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

Earlier Updates

  • Red Sox infielder Jemile Weeks, Angels righty Vinnie Pestano, and Cubs outfielder Mike Baxter have all accepted their outright assignments rather than electing to test the free agent waters, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reports (Twitter links). The trio of players were all designated for assignment recently as their clubs looked to free roster space for deadline acquisitions. Weeks, 28, has seen only a smattering of big league action since playing as a full-timer in 2011-12. Pestano has been a solid reliever over several full seasons, but has struggled mightily with his control this year. The 30-year-old Baxter will also head to the upper minors to serve as depth after putting up a .246/.348/.263 slash over 66 plate appearances with Chicago.

Giants Designate Joaquin Arias

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The Giants have designated infielder Joaquin Arias for assignment, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area reports on Twitter. His roster spot was needed for the activation of Nori Aoki.

Arias, 30, has struggled to a .207/.207/.276 slash over 59 plate appearances on the year. He’s seen part-time duty in each of the last four seasons in San Francisco, along with four prior seasons with MLB action. All said, he owns a .265/.293/.350 batting line in 1,118 plate appearances.

Giants Agree To Two-Year Deal With Joaquin Arias

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FRIDAY: Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (on Twitter) that Arias will earn $1.15MM in 2014 and $1.45MM in 2015. Arias will earn an additional $25K for reaching 325 and 350 plate appearances in 2014, though he's reached 325 PA just once in his career (2012 with the Giants) and has never hit the 350 mark in a single season.

THURSDAY: The Giants have avoided arbitration with utilityman Joaquin Arias by agreeing to a two-year deal worth $2.6MM, according to Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area (on Twitter).

Arias, 29, exchanged arbitration numbers Friday of last week, with Arias submitting a $1.5MM figure and the Giants countering at $1.1MM. The MVP Sports Group client agreed to an average annual value at the midpoint of those two numbers, indicating that he was willing to sacrifice some potential earnings in 2015 for a guaranteed two-year payday.

In two seasons with the Giants, Arias has produced a .270/.296/.369 batting line with six homers and six stolen bases in 580 plate appearances. He's capable of playing shortstop, third base and second base, although he is only a plus defender at third base, according to Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved. He'll remain the primary backup for third baseman Pablo Sandoval, shortstop Brandon Crawford and second baseman Marco Scutaro as the Giants look to turn their fortunes and return to the postseason in search of a third World Series title in five years this coming season.

With this extension, the Giants have bought out each of Arias' remaining years of arbitration eligibility, meaning he will be a free agent upon its completion. Brandon Belt is the Giants' lone remaining arbitration case, as can be seen in MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker. He filed for $3.6MM, and the Giants countered with $2.05MM.

Giants, Arias Avoid Arbitration

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We'll track the day's arbitration settlements under $2MM here. Be sure to use MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker for all the details related to this year's cases…

  • The Giants avoided arbitration with Joaquin Arias by agreeing a one-year deal, MLB.com's Chris Haft reports (on Twitter). The Beverly Hills Sports Council client will earn $925K in 2013. As our Arb Tracker shows, the Giants have one unresolved arbitration case remaining; Sergio Romo's 2013 salary remains undetermined.

NL West Notes: Giants, Villalona, Padres, Dodgers

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After getting caught up on the details of the Dodgers sale earlier this evening, let's take a look at other news out of the National League West..

  • Giants Vice President Bobby Evans says that Angel Villalona is once again on the restricted list, according to Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com (via Twitter).  This leaves San Fran with 39 player on the 40-man roster, making things easier if they need to purchase Joaquin Arias' contract or tack on a pitcher (Twitter link).  Villalona, 21, is facing legal issues in his native Dominican Republic.
  • A source familiar with negotiations told Dan Hayes of the North County Times (via Twitter) that the Padres' stake in FOX Sports San Diego is 20%, not the 51% figure that has been previously reported. A deal will likely be announced next week between Tuesday and Thursday.
  • Scouts have told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (video link) throughout Spring Training that the Dodgers are a sleeper team in 2012.  With new ownership, many believe that they'll be able to address their team needs with a deal prior to the trade deadline.  Rosenthal also gives the Giants a thumbs-up for their extension of Matt Cain.

Minor Moves: Rangers, Lindsay, Texeira, James

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Here's where we'll track today's minor moves, most of which were reported by Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus on Twitter…

A Look At Notable Moves Of August 2010

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August transactions don't boast the same excitement as their July counterparts, but they can still have ramifications for contenders and non-contenders alike. Teams readying for the postseason will often fine-tune their rosters by adding a specialty piece — a LOOGY or power bat off the bench, for example — and ones looking ahead to next year will look to shed payroll.

There's still a few days left before September arrives, and prominent players such as the Rays' B.J. Upton was claimed as recently as Friday. But in the meanwhile, here's a look back at some of the bigger names who were on the move — whether by trade or waiver claim — in August 2010, and the subsequent fallout (for the complete list, check out MLBTR's Transaction Tracker):

  • Mike Sweeney, acquired by the Phillies from the Mariners on Aug. 4: Seattle sent the right-handed-hitting veteran and what remained of his $650K salary to Philly, where he hit .231/.310/.385 down the regular season's stretch and went 1-for-1 in his lone postseason at-bat. The M's later received cash from the Phils for Sweeney, who signed a one-day contract with the Royals in March and retired.
  • Jim Edmonds, acquired by the Reds from the Brewers on Aug. 9: Cincinnati added Edmonds for its postseason push, sending Chris Dickerson back to Milwaukee in exchange. Edmonds didn't do much, hitting .207/.281/.586 in the regular season before being left off the Reds' postseason roster due to an Achilles injury. He retired this spring after signing a minor league deal with the Cards, while Dickerson was traded in March to the Yankees for Sergio Mitre.
  • Mike Fontenot, acquired by the Giants from the Cubs on Aug. 11: The Lads scooped up Fontenot for infield depth during their run to the World Series in exchange for minor league outfielder Evan Crawford. Fontenot remains in San Francisco is under team control for through 2013, though he could be a non-tender candidate this offseason, as he was last.
  • Derrek Lee, acquired by the Braves from the Cubs on Aug. 18: Lee joined Atlanta after his long tenure in Chicago, the Cubs acquiring three prospects in return. Lee was one of the better acquisitions of this period, posting a fine .287/.384/.465 line for the Braves to help them reach the postseason, though he went just 2-for-16 in their NLDS loss to the Giants. He signed with the Orioles before this season.
  • Pedro Feliz, acquired by the Cardinals from the Astros on Aug. 19: St. Louis sent David Carpenter and cash to Houston in exchange for Feliz, who was added to help out at the hot corner when David Freese was injured. Feliz's already declining bat didn't improve for the Redbirds, who missed the postseason. Feliz signed a minor league deal with the Padres this month, while Carpenter is currently in the Astros' bullpen.
  • Cody Ross, acquired by the Giants from the Marlins on waiver claim on Aug. 22: The Giants added an eventual World Series hero in acquiring Ross from the Marlins, who had little interest in retaining Ross, as he was becoming expensive with his final year of arbitration-eligibility looming.
  • Brian Fuentes, acquired by the Twins from the Angels on Aug. 27: Minnesota added Fuentes to bolster its bullpen, and the lefty threw 9 2/3 shutout innings in the regular season and 2 2/3 shutout innings in the postseason before signing with the Athletics this offseason. The Angels acquired Loek Van Mil from the Twins as a player to be named.
  • Manny Ramirez, acquired by the White Sox on a waiver claim from the Dodgers on Aug. 29: This was arguably the most notable move of the August post-deadline period, but it didn't amount to much for either teams or the player. The White Sox missed the postseason, the cash-strapped Dodgers got some salary relief, and Manny hit a quiet .261/.420/.319 before signing with the Rays this offseason (and eventually retiring). 
  • Manny Delcarmen, acquired by the Rockies from the Red Sox on Aug. 31: The Rox, still in contention for the wild card, needed bullpen depth, so they sent Chris Balcom-Miller to Boston for Delcarmen. The righty didn't pan out in Colorado, posting a 6.48 ERA in 8 1/3 innings for a team that missed the playoffs before being non-tendered this offseason. He's kicked around since then.
  • Jeff Francoeur, acquired by the Rangers from the Mets on Aug. 31: Texas sent Joaquin Arias to the Mets for Frenchy, who played well in his brief time in Texas, hitting .340/.357/.491 down the stretch and seeing playing time during the postseason. Arias was waived by the Mets, while Francoeur signed the Royals this offseason and recently inked a two-year extension.

This Date In Transactions History: Joaquin Arias

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39602275_Mariners_v_Rangers The "player to be named later" is one of baseball's many transactions  quirks. They must be named within six months of the trade, but are often agreed upon by the two teams long before that. Sometimes the November 40-man roster freeze gets in the way, sometimes it's because a player just signed his first professional contract and isn't eligible to be traded yet (a player can not officially be traded until a year after he signs his first contract). Sometimes it's just a placeholder, a piece of the puzzle the two clubs will figure out later.

Currently part of the Royals organization, Joaquin Arias knows what being a PTBNL is like. The Yankees signed him out of the Dominican Republic as a 16-year-old back in 2001, giving him a $300K signing bonus. They then watched him hit a respectable .300/.338/.394 with 12 walks and just 16 strikeouts in 218 plate appearances with their rookie level Gulf Coast League affiliate the following year. He impressed the Yankees enough that they bumped him up to their Low-A affiliate in 2003, when he was still just 18. Arias hit just .266/.306/.343 in 520 plate appearances that year, but he dazzled scouts with "plus-plus range and speed" to go along with "outstanding bat speed and raw power" according to Baseball America.

Unfortunately for Arias, he would never advance further in the Yankees' system. Seven years ago today, the Rangers officially acquired him from New York as the player to be named in the Alex Rodriguez trade. Texas chose Arias from a pool of five prospects that included Robinson Cano and current Astros' reliever Jose Valdez. At the time, Arias was ranked as the fourth best prospect in the Yankees' system by Baseball America while Cano ranked sixth and Valdez placed 21st.

Arias climbed the minor league ladder steadily after the trade, making his Major League debut in 2006. He bounced back and forth between Triple-A and the minors for the next few seasons, not sticking in the big leagues for good until he was out-of-options in 2010. Overall, he hit just .286/.322/.279 in 242 career plate appearances for the Rangers before being traded to the Mets for Jeff Francoeur last summer. Although his career has been unremarkable thus far, Arias will always be able to say that he was traded for one of the greatest players in baseball history, even if he had to wait a few weeks to be included.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

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