Braves recall former top prospect Orlando Arcia

The Braves announced they’ve recalled Orlando Arcia from Triple-A Gwinnett. Left-hander Kyle Muller was optioned out last night to clear active roster space.

Arcia will be making his team debut when he first appears in a game. Atlanta acquired him from the Brewers for relievers Patrick Weigel and Chad Sobotka in early April but immediately optioned him. That wasn’t unreasonable; while Arcia was a one-time top prospect, he never developed the way the Brewers had hoped. Between 2018-21, the right-handed hitting infielder hit just .232/.282/.344 (64 wRC+) across 1112 plate appearances. Arcia was coming off a career-best 2020, but his .260/.317/.416 line last year was still a tad worse than league average.

To his credit, Arcia has looked completely rejuvenated since changing organizations. The 26-year-old has hit .303/.380/.552 over 229 trips to the plate with the Stripers. He’s popped 13 home runs and compiled an equal number of walks and strikeouts (25 apiece). Arcia’s 145 wRC+ ranks  10th among the 79 Triple-A East hitters to tally at least 150 plate appearances.

Arcia will get another chance to try to carry over that success against big league arms. A longtime shortstop in Milwaukee, he’s also seen action at third base and in left field this season in preparation for a potential multi-positional role off the bench.