Former Rockies Gamble Finds New Home with Twins on Minor League Deal

The Colorado Rockies took a chance on this player in the middle of the 2025 season, and he really didn’t pay off.

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The Colorado Rockies were likely uninterested in re-signing Orlando Arcia. He found a new home this weekend.

Per MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, the Minnesota Twins agreed to a minor-league deal with Arcia. The deal presumably comes with an invitation to Major League spring training. The deal has not hit the Twins’ transactions log as of Sunday.

New president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta has taken an insular approach to his first year in charge of the organization. The Rockies are one of the few teams remaining that have not signed a Major League free agent, opting to clean the roster and organization of players that don’t fit the new vision and selecting talent in the Rule 5 draft.

Orlando Arcia with the Rockies

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The Rockies signed Arcia to a free-agent deal on May 28 after he was released by the Atlanta Braves. Colorado played him in 62 games, but his bat didn’t respond He slashed .203/.242/.302 with three home runs and 12 RBI. He was allowed to hit free agency in November.

Arcia was an All-Star with Atlanta and helped the Braves win the 2021 World Series title. But, the middle infielder’s production dropped significantly since his All-Star season in 2023, and the Rockies chose not to keep him. The Twins will try to get more out of him entering his age 31 season.

He likely didn’t fit the Rockies’ vision for the future. Neither did Thairo Estrada, whom the Rockies opted to buy out of his contract in November for $750,000.

With spring training less than two months away, the Rockies appear to be set at shortstop with Ezequiel Tovar. Colorado has options at second base, with Ryan Ritter listed at the top of the depth chart, with Tyler Freeman and Adael Amador serving as backups. Both could flex to help Tovar at shortstop. Blaine Crim and Kyle Karros are listed as the starters at first base and third base, respectively.

DePodesta and his general manager Josh Byrnes, are focused on salary arbitration this week. By Thursday the franchise must have deals with outfielder Mickey Moniak, outfielder Brenton Doyle, pitcher Ryan Feltner, Freeman, pitcher Jimmy Herget and pitcher Brennan Bernardino to avoid an February appointment with an independent arbiter.

DePodesta’s first offseason has been marked by the players he’s released, including two former first-round picks in left-handed pitcher Ryan Rolison and first baseman Michael Toglia.

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