The Royals have re-signed infielder Humberto Arteaga and outfielder/infielder Erick Mejia to minor league contracts, the team announced.
Both players have quickly returned to the Royals two weeks after the club non-tendered them. The two debuted in the majors last season, but the 25-year-old Arteaga garnered more experience. Arteaga totaled 135 plate appearances, but he batted a nonthreatening .197/.258/.230 without a home run during that span and managed minus-0.7 fWAR along the way. The light-hitting Arteaga didn’t pack much of a punch over 302 PA in Triple-A ball, either, as he slashed .299/.333/.394 with five HRs and 11 stolen bases.
Mejia, whom the Royals acquired from the Dodgers in a 2018 three-way trade, went to the plate 27 times at the big league level in 2019 and hit .227/.333/.273. Like Arteaga, the 25-year-old Mejia also produced at a below-average rate in Triple-A ball, where he put up a .271/.339/.382 line and logged seven long balls with 19 steals over 556 PA.
I don’t think hitting .271 with a .339 OBP is considered below average. His power may be but not the above numbers.
probably considering all three totals in context of the juiced environment of AAA.
The 78 wRC+ that that line produces is absolutely below average
Humberto Arteaga is one of the most productive Spring Training players in MLB.