Sitting in Orlando Arcia’s locker Friday at Truist Park, inside the visitor’s clubhouse, was a bottle of Weller 12 Year Bourbon and a glove with Matt Olson’s name on it.
There were gifts from Ronald Acuña Jr., Chris Sale and Olson, Arcia’s former teammates in Atlanta.
Three weeks ago, Arcia’s tenure with the Atlanta Braves came to an end. The organization designated the shortstop for assignment on May 23 after the Venezuelan played in more than 500 games for the Braves.
Arcia returned to his former home Friday, now a member of the Colorado Rockies, and was penciled in to start at shortstop and hit seventh in the series opener against the Braves.
“Feels good (to be back),” Arcia said through interpreter and Rockies third base coach Andy González. “Just come out here to do a job and help (my) team win, and that’s about it.”
Arcia signed with Colorado on May 28 and is just 12-for-61 with five RBIs — but two of those RBIs came Thursday on a walk-off, two-run single to beat the San Francisco Giants in Denver.
“We talked a lot of smack to each other, so (we) continued to do that,” Braves third baseman Austin Riley said about seeing Arcia on Friday. “He was part of that ’21 World Series, and (we were) an All-Star together. Had a few good years with him. Good player, good dude. He’s good for a clubhouse. Glad he landed where he did, and he’s getting an opportunity to play.
“Saw the walk-off the other day, told him wait for the weekend to be over before you do that again. Happy for him.”
Atlanta traded for Arcia in April of 2021, sending pitchers Patrick Weigel and Chad Sobotka to Milwaukee in exchange for the outfielder. The 30-year-old didn’t debut for the Braves until July of that season and finished the regular season with 16 hits in 81 at-bats.
Arcia went 0-4 with a walk during the Braves’ run to a World Series title in 2021.
In 2023, Arcia put together an All-Star first half and started the Midsummer Classic in Seattle. But his offensive production fell off in 2024, and Atlanta acquired Nick Allen in a trade with Oakland in November.
Allen has become Atlanta’s everyday shortstop and had an OPS of .578 ahead of Friday’s game. Allen is tied for third in the MLB in fielding run value (a Statcast metric for capturing a player’s measurable defensive performance) and is tied for the National League lead in that category.
“I work on (defense) every day, and that’s just a staple of my game that’s just always gotta be there, and I know that,” Allen said. “I’m happy with what I’ve been doing and know I can keep going and keep doing more.”
In March of 2023, Arcia signed a three-year contract extension at $7.3 million that includes a $2 million club option and $1 million buyout for 2026. He said the energy with the Rockies has been there every day, and he and his teammates were working hard to play well, play hard and get some victories for MLB’s worst team at 13-55.
“I’m glad he got picked up,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said Friday. “You pull for the guy. He’s got a beautiful family, and he meant a lot to us and did a lot of good things while he was here. Just glad that somebody picked him up and he gets to continue his Major League career.”
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