NEW YORK — Only four qualified major-league hitters have a lower OPS than Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia’s .586, and no National League qualifier has a lower slugging percentage or OPS over the past 30 days than Arcia’s .211 and .405.
What we’re saying is, it’s been bad. Really bad. He struck out in all three of his at-bats Saturday in an 8-3 loss to the New York Yankees that was only the second defeat in nine games for the Braves and ended their four-game winning streak against the Yankees dating to last season.
Advertisement
Arcia, who’s 1-for-24 with eight strikeouts in his past seven games and batting an anemic .212 with a .586 OPS overall, has built up such goodwill and plays such strong defense in Brian Snitker’s view that the Braves manager is apparently going to keep playing him every day for the foreseeable future.
Besides, it’s not as if the Braves have a better majors-ready option. If you think Nacho Alvarez might be that, keep in mind he turned 21 in April and has played just 58 games above High A.
Alvarez has been on fire since a promotion to Triple-A Gwinnett, batting .364 with four doubles, three homers, 10 RBIs and a 1.076 OPS in 10 games. But consider that he had a .693 OPS and no homers in 48 games in Double A before the promotion, and a .790 career OPS in 204 minor-league games over three seasons.
Still, he’s drawing notice with his ascendant performance.
Alvarez, a fifth-round draft pick in 2022 out of Riverside (California) City College, is a plus-defender with good speed, bat-to-balls skills and command of the strike zone, evidenced by a .401 career on-base percentage in pro ball. The 5-foot-11 Californian could be the Braves’ shortstop of the future, but the question would be, when?
Before this season, 2025 seemed the earliest that might happen, and perhaps still is. The Braves aren’t going to get carried away based on that Triple-A sample size.
Besides, Arcia was an All-Star a year ago. Even if he faded in the second half and has struggled at the plate this season, the Braves and especially Snitker believe in him and love his defense along with the energy and general vibe he brings to the team. There’s also his extremely team-friendly contract, which pays Arcia $2 million this season, $2 million in 2025, and has a $2 million team option for 2026 with a $1 million buyout.
Advertisement
“(Friday) night he hit a couple of balls really good,” Snitker said, and keep in mind that part about how much goodwill he’s built with the manager. “When you’re going like he is, they’re gonna dive and make a catch and all that kind of stuff. But yeah, he’s so valuable defensively, and I think he’ll get going again too, just like the rest of these guys have.”
Other Braves who struggled for a month or more early in the season have begun hitting at their accustomed levels recently, notably fellow infielders Austin Riley, Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies.
Riley’s first-inning home run in Friday’s 8-1 win was his fourth homer in seven games, and the third baseman had five multi-hit games in that span before going 1-for-4 Saturday on a night when the Braves had just four hits, including homers by Marcell Ozuna and Travis d’Arnaud against Yankees starter Marcus Stroman.
Riley’s eight extra-base hits in those seven games were as many as he’d totaled in his prior 42 games.
Olson’s two-run homer in the fourth inning Friday was his third in nine games, and the first baseman had a .322 average with 15 extra-base hits and a .967 OPS over 24 games before going 0-for-4 Saturday. In the loss, Braves’ Charlie Morton was charged with five hits, five runs and five walks in 5 2/3 innings, the last of his runs scoring after reliever Aaron Bummer stumbled badly in the sixth.
Bummer allowed a single, double and three walks to the first five batters he faced, including Aaron Judge’s base-loaded walk for the third run of the inning and a 7-1 lead.
Albies’ two-run homer in the first inning Friday was his second in four games, and the second baseman hit .316 with seven RBIs and a 1.016 OPS in his past eight games before his 0-for-4 Saturday.
Albies and Ozuna have each hit .346 against lefties, tied for fifth-best among NL qualifiers, with Ozuna’s .959 OPS against lefties also being fifth-best in the NL. The Braves’ Max Fried faces Nestor Cortes in a lefty vs. lefty pitching matchup in Sunday’s series finale at Yankee Stadium,
Advertisement
Then there’s Arcia, who has a woeful .125 average with one homer and three RBIs in his past 22 games before Saturday and has 21 strikeouts in his past 74 at-bats.
A year ago, in his first season as the Braves starting shortstop after moving from a utility role, Arcia hit .341 with six homers and an .889 OPS in 52 games through June 20 to earn his first All-Star selection. Then he faded, hitting .219 with a .652 OPS in his remaining 87 games.
Going back to June 21, 2023, Arcia had a .217 average and .625 OPS in his past 160 regular-season games before Saturday.
Duvall out of lineup
Before Saturday, Adam Duvall started all 23 games since Ronald Acuña Jr.’s season-ending knee injury, including 16 games in right field. But with Duvall slumping and newcomer Ramón Laureano hitting well, Snitker kept Laureano in the lineup in right field and gave Forrest Wall a start in left against righty Stroman.
“Just give Duvey a day,” Snitker said. “He’ll be back in there tomorrow against the lefty. Got to keep Laureano going. If you’re gonna hit, you’re gonna play. I mean, that’s kind of what it amounts to. And Forrest adds another little element (speed) to the lineup. Hopefully, they all keep going.”
Duvall’s recent stats have been as awful as Arcia’s: In his past 21 games, Duvall has hit .128 (10-for-78) with one homer, five RBIs and a .180 slugging percentage and .370 OPS. He has 27 strikeouts in that span.
“He’s had his struggles,” Snitker said. “We got him to hit left-handers. His production against lefties has been really good. He’s struggled more against right-handers, which is obvious. I tell you what, it’s not for lack of effort, that’s for sure. We’ll just kind of keep shuffling the deck.”
The Braves signed Duvall to a one-year, $3 million free-agent contract with two weeks left in spring training, and started the season with him in a left-field platoon with the left-handed-hitting Kelenic. But with Acuña out, Duvall has alternated between the corners in the regular lineup, and since center fielder Michael Harris II went on the IL with a strained hamstring, Kelenic has played center every game.
Advertisement
As Snitker noted, Duvall has thrived in his initially intended role: He’s hit .274 with six homers and a .934 OPS in 88 plate appearances against lefties. But against righties, he’s struggled to a staggering degree, batting .096 (9-for-94) with three walks, 36 strikeouts and a .250 OPS that’s the worst in the majors among hitters with more than 25 such plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Laureano is making the most of a second chance after being released by the Cleveland Guardians in late May. He hit .143 with a .494 OPS with Cleveland, signed a minor-league deal with the Braves a few weeks later, and hit .362 with three homers and a 1.028 OPS in 14 games for Triple-A Gwinnett.
Since returning to the majors with the Braves, Laureano has hit .300 with four extra-base hits and a .900 OPS in seven games.
(Photo of Orlando Arcia: Rich Graessle / Icon Sportswire via Associated Press)