Brewers trade shortstop Orlando Arcia to Braves for two pitchers

The Milwaukee Brewers are shaking up their crowded infield, as they traded Orlando Arcia to Atlanta in exchange for right-handed pitchers Chad Sobotka and Patrick Weigel on Tuesday.

Sobotka and Weigel will report to the Brewers alternate training site.

Arcia has spent his entire six-year MLB career with Milwaukee, debuting as a 21-year-old in 2016. In 542 games, Arcia logged a .244/.293/.364 slash line with 42 homers, 39 stolen bases and 180 RBI for the Brewers.

His best season came in 2017, his first full season in the big leagues. Arcia played 152 games at shortstop and mashed a career-high 15 home runs, while also recording a .277/.324/.407 slash line.

Weigel, who is 26 years old, is listed as Atlanta’s No. 12 prospect by MLB.com. He made his major-league debut last season and allowed two runs on two hits and three walks in 2/3 of an inning. In 2019, he posted a 6-2 record, 2.73 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 79 innings at Double-A and Triple-A.

Sobotka, 27, has appeared in 50 MLB contests — all as a reliever — and tallied a 5.36 ERA and 11.7 K/9 for the Braves.

“We are excited to add two big, power arms to our organization,” Milwaukee general manager David Stearns said in a statement. “Both have major-league experience and give us additional quality options over the course of the season.”

Arcia’s grasp on Milwaukee’s starting shortstop position loosened when the Brewers traded for Luis Urias after the 2019 season. Arica started 52 games at shortstop in 2020, but manager Craig Counsell emphasized giving Urias a shot at the position in 2021.

Sure enough, Urias started three of Milwaukee’s opening four games at shortstop while Arcia started two games at third base and one at short. He collected one hit in 11 plate appearances (.091 batting average) and fanned three times.

His fielder’s choice in 10th inning in the season opener scored Lorenzo Cain with the game-winning run in a 6-5 win over Minnesota.

Moving forward, Travis Shaw will likely get the most reps at third with Urias holding down the shortstop position, and Daniel Robertson backing up both.

Milwaukee will play the second contest of a three-game series against Chicago at Wrigley Field on Tuesday night. Catch “Brewers Live” on Bally Sports Wisconsin at 6 p.m.