Oswaldo Arcia & Trevor May: Deep League Waiver Wire

Somehow, this became an all-Twins edition of the deep league waiver wire. It wasn’t intended that way, but it does support the idea that struggling teams produce more waiver wire gems as they move around the deck chairs and try to figure out what setup leads to better performance.

Oswaldo Arcia | OF MIN | CBS 5% Owned

Surprise, surprise, opening day left fielder Eddie Rosario has been terrible at the plate in the early going. I was down on him during draft season given his terrible plate discipline and uninspiring minor league track record. Rosario’s struggles have opened the door for my good friend Arcia, who I loved heading into 2014, then figured was overvalued heading into 2015. He seems to have been around for a while, but he’s still just 24 years old. We also haven’t heard a peep of any lingering injury issues like he has dealt with in recent years.

Obviously, the upside here is the power. He has had major issues making contact in the Majors, but has shown better in the minors, providing us with some sort of hope. A strikeout rate in the low to mid 20% range would be a vast improvement over the 30%+ marks he has posted.

Unfortunately, he is a butcher in the field and the Twins seemingly don’t view him as a long-term piece. With Byung-ho Park cemented in the designated hitter slot, are the Twins willing to trot Arcia out there every day in left field and relegate Rosario to bench duty? I’m not so sure. But there is also speculation that perhaps the Twins eventually trade him, which could open up more guaranteed playing time. It’s certainly worth it to give him another shot to see what his bat could do.

Either way, in a deep league, he’s an excellent speculation. He’s playing now while he’s hitting, and at the very least, you have a 300 plate appearance bench guy who will deliver some power, which is in high demand in deep leagues.

Trevor May | RP MIN | 10% Owned

It’s speculation time! It’s possible that Glen Perkins won’t be out for as long as originally feared thanks to a shoulder injury. But shoulder injuries are scary and there’s no guarantee he’s back to normal if he does indeed return when first eligible. At the moment, Kevin Jepsen is acting as the fill-in closer. He’s a fine reliever, but he posted a 3.85 SIERA last year, saved by a .242 BABIP. It’s just not a great skill set, and not one to bet on holding a closer role.

So instead, speculate on May. The former starting pitcher prospect is now a full-time reliever, and so far the results have been exciting. While his walk rate is a bit inflated, he’s struck out 14 of the 36 batters he has faced, thanks to a whifftastic fastball and good changeup. There’s no way the SwStk% on his four-seamer is sustainable, but it’s clear the upside is there to become a far more effective reliever than Jepsen.

We cannot be sure how many bad outings it would take to push May into a role he has never served in before. So this is the very definition of a speculation. But if you have the roster space, he’s worth rolling the dice on.