The Milwaukee Brewers continued their consistent activity on the trade market this past weekend when they sent starting shortstop Jean Segura to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The move fueled rumors regarding the timeline of top prospect Orlando Arcia, who was just ranked the No. 6 overall prospect in baseball by MLB.com.
Brewers general manager David Stearns braced for such speculation and was ready to speak on the matter shortly after the trade became official.
"This transaction does not change our development plan for Orlando Arcia," Stearns told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "It's in Orlando's best interests and the organization's best interests for Orlando to continue his development.
"We're going to send him to Triple-A, allow him to continue his development, and grow and mature as a player. His production and his continued development will dictate his timeline to the major leagues, rather than a move like this."
Arcia has yet to reach Triple-A, but the 21-year-old excelled at Double-A Biloxi in 2015. He hit .307/.347/.453 with 74 runs scored, 8 home runs, 69 RBI and 25 stolen bases in 129 games last year and he'll now have to prove himself at the highest level of the minors before making his MLB debut.
Some speculate Arcia could be up sooner rather than later.
"Milwaukee trading Segura probably means we will see their top prospect, shortstop Orlando Arcia, at some point this season," writes ESPN's Keith Law. "He dominated Double-A, and his feel for the game is so advanced that I think he could handle an immediate call-up, although service-time considerations probably mean we won't see him until at least May."
Brewers make sensible move by trading Segura. Their ss prospect Orlando arcia will be a star.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 30, 2016
"The rebuilding Brewers will establish Arcia's time line for reaching Milwaukee, but he will certainly be their starting shortstop at some time in the near future, and he has all-star potential," Haudricourt wrote in a piece for Baseball America. "He could probably begin the 2016 season in the majors and hold his own, but the Brewers will take things slow unless they surprisingly find themselves in contention."
Stearns was hired by the Brewers to help rebuild the organization from the bottom up. Arcia represents his first major piece of that process, and if all goes well at Triple-A, fans could see yet another top prospect make an impact in the MLB.
