| Joaquín Arias | |
|---|---|
 Árias with the San Francisco Giants | |
| Infielder | |
| Born: (1984-09-21)September 21, 1984 (age 41) Santo Domingo,Dominican Republic | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 13, 2006, for the Texas Rangers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 24, 2015, for the San Francisco Giants | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .265 |
| Home runs | 7 |
| Runs batted in | 95 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Joaquín Arias (born September 21, 1984) is a Dominican former professionalbaseballinfielder. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theTexas Rangers,New York Mets, andSan Francisco Giants.
Arias was born on 21 September 1984, inSanto Domingo,Dominican Republic.
Arias signed with theNew York Yankees as an international free agent on 12 July 2001. He made his professional debut in 2002 with the rookie-levelGulf Coast League Yankees, hitting .300 with 21 RBI across 57 games. Ariasbatted .266/.306/.343 with three home runs, 48 RBI, and 12 stolen bases for theBattle Creek Yankees of theSingle-AMidwest League in 2003.[1]
TheTexas Rangers acquired Arias on 23 March 2004, completing a trade made 36 days earlier on 16 February that sentAlex Rodriguez to theNew York Yankees forAlfonso Soriano.[2] Among five Yankees prospects offered to the Rangers, Arias was selected overRobinson Canó because he was a more polished defender and two years younger.[1]
Arias made hisMajor League debut with the Rangers on 13 September 2006, drawing awalk against theDetroit Tigers.[3] He made six appearances for Texas during his rookie campaign, going 6-for-11 (.545) with one RBI and one walk.[4]
Arias missed the majority of the 2007 campaign after undergoingarthroscopic right shoulder surgery. He made 32 appearances for the Rangers during the 2008 season, batting .291/.345/.409 with nine RBI and four stolen bases.[5] Arias played in only three games for Texas in 2009, going hitless in eight at-bats.[6]
Arias made 50 appearances for the Rangers in 2010, slashing .276/.290/.347 with nine RBI and one stolen base. Arias wasdesignated for assignment following the promotion ofAlex Cora on 24 August 2010[7]
On 31 August 2010, Arias was traded to theNew York Mets in exchange forJeff Francoeur.[8] Arias made 22 appearances down the stretch for New York, hitting .200/.250/.233 with four RBI.[9]
On 4 November 2010, Arias was claimed off waivers by theKansas City Royals,[10] but the Royals designated Arias for assignment on 19 December to make room on the 40-man roster for the prospects acquired in theZack Greinke trade.[11] He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-AOmaha Storm Chasers on 22 December.[12] Arias played in 69 games for Omaha in 2011, hitting .232/.272/.353 with three home runs, 25 RBI, and seven stolen bases.
TheSan Francisco Giants signed Arias to a minor league contract on 15 December 2011. After spending the 2012 Spring training with the Giants, he was assigned toFresno Grizzlies, Giants'Triple-A affiliate, on 5 April. He played 18 games for the Grizzlies, hitting .400 with 2home runs and 17runs batted in (RBIs). The Giants called up Arias on 25 April.[13]
Arias hit his first major-league home run in his 331st career major-league at-bat on 22 May 2012. The two-run homer offMilwaukee Brewers starting pitcherShaun Marcum gave San Francisco a 4–0 lead in the 4th inning of a game the Giants would go on to win by a score of 6–4.[14] On 13 June 2012, playing third base, Arias fielded a tricky grounder byJason Castro, who was pinch-hitting forXavier Cedeño. Arias, stumbling backwards as he gloved the ball, quickly threw the baseball to first base for the final out ofMatt Cain's perfect game.[15][16][17] On 22 August 2012, he accumulated a single-game career high of fiveRBIs.[18] In total, Arias appeared in 112 games of the 2012 regular season, batting .270 with 5 home runs and 34 RBI. He was alsohit by pitches a team-high 5 times.[19]
The Giants finished the 2012 season asWorld Series Champions.[20] During thepostseason Arias appeared in 12 games, all of them as a mid- to late-inning replacement. On 10 October, during theDivision Series against theCincinnati Reds, Arias entered the game in the fourth inning and had two hits in three times at bat. Both hits weredoubles, after both of which Arias eventually scored runs in a game the Giants won 8–3. Overall for the postseason, Arias went 3-for-8 (.375) with three runs scored.[21]
On 24 June 2013, Arias left a game against theLos Angeles Dodgers in the second inning with a lefthamstring injury after scoring fromfirst base on a double byAndrés Torres.[22] The injury only sidelined Arias for a little over a week and he took the field for the Giants against the Cincinnati Reds on 3 July.[23] However, his return proved to be short-lived when he required an emergencyappendectomy late on the night of 7 July. The following day the Giants placed him on the15-day disabled list.[24] He was re-activated and returned to the team on 26 July.[25] Arias started 47 games, appeared in 102 games, batting .271 with 19 RBI.[26]
On 23 January 2014, Arias and the Giants agreed on a two-year, $2.6-million contract.[26] Arias appeared in 107 games, batting .254 with 15 RBI. In the 2014 postseason, Arias appeared in 8 games, batting 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored, as the Giants won the2014 World Series over theKansas City Royals.[27]
On 28 April 2015, Arias hit 3-for-3 offClayton Kershaw, becoming the first Giant get three hits off Kershaw in one game.[28] Arias appeared in 40 games, batting .207, before being designated for assignment on 27 July.[29] Árias cleared waivers and was assigned to the Triple-ASacramento River Cats on 4 August.[30]
On 13 December 2015, Arias signed a minor league contract with theArizona Diamondbacks organization.[31] He was released by Arizona prior to the start of the season on 31 March 2016.[32]
· Baseball Almanac