| J. P. Arencibia | |
|---|---|
 Arencibia with theToronto Blue Jays in 2011 | |
| New York Mets | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: (1986-01-05)January 5, 1986 (age 39) Miami,Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 7, 2010, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 1, 2015, for the Tampa Bay Rays | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .212 |
| Home runs | 80 |
| Runs batted in | 245 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| |
Jonathan Paul Arencibia (born January 5, 1986) is an American former professionalbaseballcatcher. He is serving as the catching coach for theNew York Mets after having spent 2025 as the bench coach for theSyracuse Mets.. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theToronto Blue Jays,Texas Rangers, andTampa Bay Rays from 2010 through 2015.
Arencibia attendedWestminster Christian School inMiami. He played football and basketball in high school, but excelled in baseball. He later played for the Under-18 Florida Bombers alongside future major leaguersMat Latos,Gaby Sánchez,Yonder Alonso, andJon Jay.[1]
Arencibia attended theUniversity of Tennessee inKnoxville and playedcollege baseball for theTennessee Volunteers.[2] He won theUSA BaseballRichard W. "Dick" Case Player of the Year Award in 2006.[3] Prior to the 2007 draft, questions were raised about Arencibia's defensive abilities as a catcher. After drafting him, however, the Blue Jays decided to keep him as a catcher, rather than convert him to another position such as first base.[citation needed] Arencibia's teammates at Tennessee includedChase Headley,Luke Hochevar, andJulio Borbon. In the summer of 2006, Arencibia played baseball inCuba withDavid Price, and was drafted 20 positions behind Price in 2007.[1]
Arencibia was drafted 21st overall by theToronto Blue Jays in the2007 MLB draft.[4] He was assigned to Toronto's Low A ball affiliate, theAuburn Doubledays of theNew York–Penn League. Arencibia struggled during the early part of the season but hit well during the stretch and into the playoffs, helping the Doubledays win the NY-Penn League championship. He began the 2008 season with theDunedin Blue Jays of theFlorida State League. By the FSL all-star break, he led the league or was near the top in many offensive categories, finishing the first half of the season batting .315 with 13 homers, 22 doubles and 62 RBI. He was named as the starting catcher for the Western Division in the FSL All-Star Game.
After the game, the Blue Jays promoted him to their Double-A team, theNew Hampshire Fisher Cats of theEastern League. During the off-season of 2008, Arencibia took part in theArizona Fall League as a member of thePhoenix Desert Dogs. For the 2009 season, Arencibia was promoted to theLas Vegas 51s, the Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate in thePacific Coast League.[4]
Arencibia was called up to MLB on August 4, 2010, to replace the injuredJohn Buck, who had been placed on the 15-day disabled list for a right thumb laceration. At the time of his promotion, Arencibia was batting .303 with a PCL leading 31 home runs and 79 RBI[5] He started in his first MLB game for theToronto Blue Jays on August 7, 2010, against theTampa Bay Rays. In his first MLB at-bat, Arencibia hit a two-run home run on the first pitch fromJames Shields, becoming the 28th player in history to hit a home run on his first MLB pitch.[6] In his following plate appearances, he hit a double, a single and then a solo home run and received acurtain call from the fans at theRogers Centre while finishing the game just a triple shy ofhitting for the cycle. Arencibia became the fifth player (at the time) ever to hit two home runs in his first game. In addition, he became the first person in the modern era with four hits and two home runs in an MLB debut, a feat set 121 years before byColumbus Solons catcherCharlie Reilly.[7]
Arencibia is also the first Blue Jay to have four hits in a debut, and the first Blue Jay sinceJunior Félix to hit a home run on the first pitch in his first MLB at bat.[8] On August 18, 2010, Arencibia was optioned back to Triple-A Las Vegas to make room for the return ofJohn Buck from the disabled list.[9] He was recalled from Las Vegas on September 1.[10]
Arencibia was the starting catcher at the Blue Jays' 2011 home opener. He hit the team's first home run of the season, a 2-run homer to deep center. He finished the night with 2 home runs and a triple.[11] On May 7, he broke upJustin Verlander's perfect game, being walked after a 12 pitch at-bat.[12] On June 3 against theBaltimore Orioles, Arencibia hit his first careergrand slam in an 8–4 victory. As of June 4, Arencibia led all major league rookies with 9 home runs, which is already a Blue Jays club record for a rookie catcher, surpassing the previous record of five shared byPat Borders (1988) andGreg Myers (1990).[13]
In a game against theKansas City Royals on August 25, Arencibia hit his 20th home run of the season, tying the single season record for home runs by Blue Jays catchers (John Buck hit 20 in 2010).[14] While playing at home against theTampa Bay Rays on August 29, Arencibia stole a base, his first career stolen base on his first attempt. In a game against theBoston Red Sox on September 7, Arencibia hit his 21st home run of the season, breaking a tie with John Buck for most home runs by a Blue Jays' catcher in a single season. He is one of three rookies in Blue Jays history to hit 21 or more home runs, along withEric Hinske (24 in 2002) andRowdy Tellez (21 in 2019).[15]
He led all major league catchers inpassed balls in 2011, with 12.[16]
OnOpening Day 2012, Arencibia hit a game-winning 3-run home run in the 16th inning against theCleveland Indians. It was the longest game in Opening Day history in terms of innings.[17]
On May 16, 2012, Arencibia reached 100 RBI for his career in a 4–1 win against theNew York Yankees. The following day, in a game against theNew York Mets, Arencibia set a career high for RBI in a game with 6, in a 14–5 win. Arencibia also hit 2 home runs, giving him the first 3-game home run streak of his career.[18] Arencibia was named AL Player of the Week for May 14–20, hitting .360 with 4 home runs, 10 RBI, 7 runs scored, and a slugging percentage of .920. He is the first catcher in Blue Jays history to win the award.[19] On July 25, in a game against theOakland Athletics, Arencibia was hit on the right hand by a pitch while catching. Arencibia finished the inning, but left the game for precautionary reasons. X-rays came back positive for a fracture, and he was expected to miss 6 weeks.[20] Arencibia began a rehab assignment with the Class-ADunedin Blue Jays on September 2.[21] He finished the season with a .233 batting average, 18 home runs, and 56 RBI.
On May 6, 2013, Arencibia hit a two-run home run to give the Blue Jays an 8–7 lead against theTampa Bay Rays, in a game where they had been down 7–0 after the third inning. The comeback victory was the largest by the Blue Jays since a 12–11 win in 2007, also against Tampa Bay.[22] It was to be a rare 2013 highlight for Arencibia, who was a consistent target of criticism from both the fans and the press for his poor statistical performance that year.
It's unfortunate to see how words are twisted to make false stories. I give way too much of myself to have others try and make me out to something/someone I'm not. Solution. I make myself very accessible with constant charitable events, and opening up to social media for the fans. I will no longer be on twitter. Thanks to all the fans who support and praying for the others that hate. God Bless.
Arencibia was a guest onBrady &Lang, a radio program broadcast onSportsnet 590, on July 4, 2013. When asked for his opinion ofGregg Zaun andDirk Hayhurst, two commentators (and former Blue Jays players) employed byRogers Sportsnet who had criticized Arencibia's performance in recent broadcasts, Arencibia stated that "...speaking for myself and the team, there's not one person in our clubhouse that respects those guys". Arencibia stated that Hayhurst was a "below average player" during their time together in Triple-A, and also made mention of Zaun's link to theMitchell Report, which named several players suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs during their careers.[26] After setting off a firestorm of comments from fans, some defending his position, others against it, on July 23, Arencibia shut down his Twitter account. (It was later reopened by a fan group called "Team JP" on August 15.)[27]
Arencibia finished the 2013 season batting below theMendoza line, hitting just .194, although he did hit 21 home runs, placing him second amongst MLB catchers toMatt Wieters, and 55 RBIs.[28] However, his extremely low batting average, coupled with drawing only 18 walks over the course of the entire season, led to an historically low OPS for Arencibia: with a .592 OPS, he became the first player in major league history to reach 20 homers in a season and still post a sub-.600 OPS. (The next lowest OPS for a 20-homer season was .649 by Cleveland'sWillie Kirkland in 1962.)[29]
Arencibia was non-tendered on December 2, 2013, making him a free agent for the first time in his career.[30]
Arencibia signed a one-year contract worth $1.8 million with Texas on December 10, 2013.[31] Arencibia was optioned to the Triple-ARound Rock Express on May 20, 2014,[32] and outrighted to Round Rock on May 21.[33] On July 17, Arencibia was re-added to the 40-man roster whenCarlos Peña was designated for assignment.[34]
On July 29 at Globe Life Park, Arencibia dominatedNew York Yankees' pitching with four extra base-hits in five at bats (two doubles, two home runs, one of them being a grand slam) and batted in seven of eleven Rangers runs, but the Rangers fell 12–11.[35] On August 13, 2014, Arencibia took the mound for the first time in his career and pitched the 9th inning for the Rangers who were losing to theTampa Bay Rays 10–1. He pitched a scoreless inning, throwing 10 pitches, 6 for strikes, and allowed one hit for a single. His 10 pitches ranged from 70 to 74 miles per hour.[36] He was assigned outright to Triple-A Round Rock on October 6.[37] On October 9, it was announced that Arencibia had declined the assignment to Round Rock, becoming a free agent.[38]
On January 8, 2015, theBaltimore Orioles announced that they had signed Arencibia to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.[39] He was released by the Orioles on April 9.[40] On April 16, he signed a minor league contract with theTampa Bay Rays, and was assigned to the Triple-ADurham Bulls.[41] Arencibia was called up by the Rays on August 26, afterCurt Casali was placed on the disabled list.[42] Arencibia was designated for assignment on November 20, 2015,[43] and released on November 23.[44] He appeared in 24 games for the Rays, batting .310 with 6 home runs and 17 RBI.[28]
ThePhiladelphia Phillies announced on December 14, 2015, that Arencibia had been signed to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.[45] He was granted his release on May 16, 2016.[46] In 12 games for the Triple-ALehigh Valley IronPigs, Arencibia hit .167 with one home run and two RBI.[47]
On May 20, 2016, Arencibia signed a minor league contract to return to theTampa Bay Rays organization, and was assigned to the Triple–ADurham Bulls.[48] He remained in Triple-A Durham for the rest of the 2016 season, and batted .252 with 14 home runs and 47 RBI in 78 games played.[47] Arencibia elected free agency following the season on November 7.[49]
Arencibia announced his retirement from professional baseball on January 18, 2017.[50][51]
On January 9, 2023, Arencibia announced that he was joining theNew York Mets as a bench coach for the Triple–ASyracuse Mets.[52]
On November 19, 2025, Arencibia was promoted to catching coach for theNew York Mets.[53]
Arencibia was named a studio pre and postgame analyst for Marlins broadcasts onFox Sports Florida on February 12, 2019.[54]
Arencibia was born in Miami to Cuban parents. His maternal grandparents wereBasque andCanarian descent, and immigrated to the United States fromCuba when his mother was two years old. He mostly grew up in a single parent home with his mother Irene.
He lives inNashville in the off-season. In 2013, Arencibia was reported to be datingKimberly Perry ofThe Band Perry.[55] The couple was engaged on September 30, 2013[56] and were married on June 12, 2014.[57] In March 2018, the couple filed for divorce.[58]
In early 2021, Arencibia was linked to conservative political commentator and television presenterTomi Lahren.[59] In March 2021, he apologized publicly for threatening a comedian who had "trolled" Lahren aboutDonald Trump losing the2020 United States presidential election.[60] In September 2021, Arencibia and Lahren announced their engagement.[61] On October 21, 2022, they were married in Nashville.
