The Phillies have released veteran catcher/first baseman J.P. Arencibia from their Triple-A affiliate at his request.
Arencibia, 30, signed a minor league pact with Philadelphia this offseason on the heels of an excellent run with the Rays, during which he batted .310/.315/.606 with six homers in 73 plate appearances. Even in the midst of that outburst, however, Arencibia showed many of the characteristic red flags with which he has come to be associated throughout his big league tenure — namely striking out on 22 occasions (30.1 percent) and walking just once. This year with the Phillies, he’s been unable to replicate that 2015 production, batting .167/.167/.271 in 48 plate appearances.
Arencibia, a former top prospect and once the Blue Jays’ regular catcher, has plenty of power but has long struggled with strikeouts and a lack of on-base skills. He’s a .212/.258/.412 hitter in 1687 plate appearances at the Major League level and a .255/.300/.501 hitter in a similar sample of 1615 PAs at the Triple-A level.
The fact that he married Kimberly Perry makes him an eternal winner.
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True that.
Never getting another job