One of Vaughn Grissom or Braden Shewmake is expected to open the season as Atlanta's starting shortstop, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports, which would leave Arcia in a bench role.
The veteran infielder began the spring competing with Grissom for the job, but Shewmake's strong defense this spring has pushed him into the mix. Arcia could still see significant playing time this season if whichever youngster begins the season as the starter struggles, but it would likely take injuries or poor performance from both to push him to the top of the depth chart. Arcia slashed .244/.316/.416 in 68 games for Atlanta last season.
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Braves' Orlando Arcia: Sitting Game 3
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Arcia is not in the starting lineup for Game 3 of the NLDS versus the Phillies on Friday.
Arcia will take a seat after he went 0-for-5 with two walks and a strikeout while starting the first two games of the NLDS. Vaughn Grissom will draw the start at second base and bat eighth against the Phillies on Friday.
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Braves' Orlando Arcia: Overtakes Grissom on depth chart
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Arcia will start at second base and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Nationals, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
Arcia appears to have taken over as Atlanta's primary option at the keystone, as he'll stick in the lineup against a right-handed pitcher for the third game in a row while slumping rookie Vaughn Grissom remains on the bench. After slugging home runs in both of the first two games in Washington, Arcia should continue to see steady run while he's wielding a hot bat.
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Braves' Orlando Arcia: Back from injured list
Rotowire
Arcia (hamstring) was activated from the 10-day injured list Thursday.
The 28-year-old has been sidelined by the hamstring strain since Aug. 9 but has been cleared to rejoin Atlanta after a four-game rehab assignment. Arcia should fill a utility role with Vaughn Grissom now operating as the primary second baseman.
Arcia (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday.
Arcia has been on the injured list since Aug. 10, and the club has been targeting a September return. The 28-year-old's rehab assignment should be the final step in his recovery process, but he'll likely need to appear in several minor-league games prior to rejoining the big-league club. If he feels good following his rehab games, he'll likely be in the mix to return from the injured list sometime next week.
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Braves' Orlando Arcia: September return likely
Rotowire
Arcia (hamstring), who was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday, said he could return in 3-to-4 weeks, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Arcia suffered the hamstring strain during Tuesday's win over the Red Sox, and it appears he'll be sidelined until at least the start of September. Atlanta is already without Ozzie Albies (foot), so prospect Vaughn Grissom was called up and should receive significantly playing time at second base.
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Braves' Orlando Arcia: Officially lands on injured list
Rotowire
Arcia (hamstring) was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday.
Arcia sustained a left hamstring strain Tuesday against the Red Sox and will be forced to miss at least a week and a half. It's not yet clear how much time the 28-year-old is expected to miss, but Atlanta called up Vaughn Grissom from Double-A Mississippi on Wednesday, and the prospect should have a chance to carve out playing time at second base while Arcia and Ozzie Albies (foot) are sidelined.
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Braves' Orlando Arcia: Heading to IL
Rotowire
Arcia will be placed on the injured list after suffering a left hamstring strain during Tuesday's win over the Red Sox, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
Arcia gave Atlanta the lead with an RBI double during the 10th inning, but he injured his hamstring while coming into second base. He came off the bag and was tagged out before being helped off the field. The 28-year-old has been operating as the primary second baseman with Ozzie Albies (foot) already sidelined, and Ehire Adrianza is now likely to step into a starting role.
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Braves' Orlando Arcia: Not in Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
Arcia is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.
Arcia was held out of the lineup for Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader and will be on the bench again Sunday. Ehire Adrianza will work at the keystone during the series finale in New York.
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Braves' Orlando Arcia: Pops seventh homer
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Arcia went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Phillies.
The 28-year-old utility player gave Atlanta a 1-0 lead by taking Zack Wheeler deep in the fifth inning, but it was all the offense the home team could muster on the afternoon. Arcia has started five straight games at second base and homered in the last two, giving him seven long balls on the year in 178 plate appearances to go with a .247/.320/.411 slash line, and he'll continue to hold down the fort at the keystone until Ozzie Albies (foot) makes his return.
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Braves' Orlando Arcia: Blasts homer in win
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Arcia went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 13-1 win over the Phillies.
Arcia's sixth home run of the season came in the fifth inning, when he took reliever Corey Knebel deep with two outs and a runner on base. With Atlanta cutting bait on the Robinson Cano experiment and not adding further reinforcement in the middle infield other than utility man Ehire Adrianza ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline, Arcia looks poised to serve as the team's everyday second baseman until Ozzie Albies (foot) is ready to return from the injured list later in the season. Arcia will pick up his fifth consecutive start in Wednesday's series finale and will bat eighth.
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Braves' Orlando Arcia: Starting again Sunday
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Arcia is starting at second base and batting eighth Sunday versus Arizona.
It's the third consecutive start for Arcia, and the second straight to come against a right-handed pitcher with Merrill Kelly on the mound Sunday for Arizona. Robinson Cano has the platoon advantage but has a .377 OPS through nine games with Atlanta, so it appears Arcia is back as the primary option at the keystone.
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Braves' Orlando Arcia: Sticking in bench role
Rotowire
Arcia is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.
Arcia recently completed a three-game starting streak while Atlanta faced off against a trio of lefty pitchers, but he'll be on the bench for the second straight game while Philadelphia bring another righty (Kyle Gibson) to the bump. The 27-year-old looks as though he'll occupy the short side of a platoon at second base with the lefty-hitting Robinson Cano for the foreseeable future.
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Braves' Orlando Arcia: Swats fifth homer
Rotowire
Arcia went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Friday's 8-1 win over the Angels.
Robinson Cano got the start at second base but was lifted early due to dizziness, so Arcia wound up seeing a full night's worth of playing time. The 27-year-old utility player took advantage in the seventh inning by crushing a first-pitch slider from a fading Shohei Ohtani to left field for his fifth homer of the year, breaking open what was a 3-0 game. He hasn't seen much action since Cano was added to the roster, but if the latter winds up missing more time, Arcia would take over as the starter at the keystone in the short term.
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Braves' Orlando Arcia: Pops fourth homer
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Arcia went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a second run scored in Friday's 8-4 win over the Nationals.
With southpaw Patrick Corbin on the mound for the Nats, Arcia got the start at second base while hitting eighth and took advantage of the matchup. The 27-year-old infielder is slashing .256/.329/.388 with four homers, 13 runs and 18 RBI in 146 plate appearances, and for now he'll handle the short side of a platoon alongside Robinson Cano until Ozzie Albies (foot) is ready to return.
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Braves' Orlando Arcia: Not starting Monday
Rotowire
Arcia is not in the starting lineup for Monday's contest against the Mets.
Arcia will head to the bench Monday as Robinson Cano will make his debut with the team and take over the starting spot a second base. The 27-year-old is expected to shift into more of a platoon role after the addition of Cano, making his absence from the lineup Monday something that could be common moving forward.
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Braves' Orlando Arcia: Likely to fade into platoon role
Rotowire
Arcia is expected to move into a short-side platoon role with Atlanta on track to promote Robinson Cano from Triple-A Gwinnett prior to Monday's game against the Mets, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.
When Ozzie Albies fractured his foot June 13 and underwent surgery two days later, Arcia was installed as the team's everyday second baseman. After generating seven hits in his first three starts in place of Albies, Arcia has proceeded to hit .145/.232/.145 over his subsequent 18 games. Atlanta apparently prefers to keep Arcia's top backup at second base, Phil Gosselin, in a utility role, so the lefty-hitting Cano looks as though he'll get a look as the primary option at the keystone as the team aims to extract more production from that position. Arcia, meanwhile, should replace Cano in the lineup versus left-handed pitching and will likely represent Atlanta's top pinch-running option off the bench on days he doesn't start.
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Braves' Orlando Arcia: Sits in second straight game
Rotowire
Arcia is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Cardinals.
Phil Gosselin will pick up a second straight start at second base in place of Arcia, whose ongoing slump may have prompted manager Brian Snitker to go in a different direction. Before sitting out Monday's 6-3 win, Arcia had gone 2-for-28 with 10 strikeouts over his last eight contests.
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Braves' Orlando Arcia: Not in Monday's lineup
Rotowire
Arcia isn't starting Monday against the Cardinals.
Arcia started in the last four games and went 1-for-13 with three RBI, two walks and six strikeouts. Phil Gosselin will take his place at the keystone and bat eighth Monday.
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Braves' Orlando Arcia: Takes seat Wednesday
Rotowire
Arcia is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game in Philadelphia.
Phil Gosselin will check in at the keystone for Arcia, who has taken over as a full-time starter at the position since Ozzie Albies fractured his foot June 13. Arcia had started in each of Atlanta's last eight games, going 5-for-30 with two runs and an RBI during that stretch.
