Alcantara signed with the Nippon-Ham Fighters on Friday, Sung Min Kim of The Athletic reports.
Alcantara has not logged a plate appearance in the majors since 2017, though he's spent time in the minors as a member of the Mets, Angels and Giants organizations since. He's managed only a 49 wRC+ across 459 plate appearances at the big-league level, making it likely that he wouldn't have progressed past serving as organizational depth for any MLB club. On the other hand, he should have a better chance to serve a significant role with the Fighters in 2022.
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Giants' Arismendy Alcantara: Reassigned to MiLB camp
Rotowire
The Giants assigned Alcantara to their minor-league camp Monday.
Alcantara was one of 25 players included in Monday's round of cuts as the Giants reduced their big-league spring roster from 74 to 49 men. The 29-year-old has more than a year of big-league service time on his resume, but he hasn't appeared in the majors since 2017 with the Reds.
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Giants' Arismendy Alcantara: Joins San Francisco
Rotowire
Alcantara signed a minor-league deal with the Giants on Friday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
The 29-year-old joined the Angels on a minor-league deal last year and spent the entirety of the 2020 campaign at the alternate training site. Alcantara last appeared in the majors in 2017 and had a .435 OPS in 108 plate appearances for Cincinnati.
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Angels' Arismendy Alcantara: Gets call for 60-man roster
Rotowire
Alcantara will be part of the Angels' 60-man roster.
Alcantara had been off to a hot spring, posting a 1.022 OPS in 27 at-bats with a pair of home runs before the shutdown. While he hasn't seen MLB action since 2017 and isn't on the 40-man roster, Alcantara brings positional versatility to the table that could prove helpful as a taxi squad member. The 28-year-old also saw success at the plate last season for Triple-A Salt Lake, posting a .866 OPS through 92 games.
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Angels' Arismendy Alcantara: Could make taxi squad
Rotowire
Alcantara could provide depth as a member of the Angels' taxi squad if the 2020 season is played, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
Despite a strong showing in Cactus League play, Alcantara was not expected to break camp with the big-league club before spring training was suspended. However, under a proposed plan by MLB, teams may be permitted to carry 20 players who can be shuttled back and forth on the roster as part of a taxi squad. Alcantara appears to be a good option for such a role given his big-league experience and positional versatility.
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Angels' Arismendy Alcantara: Enjoys strong spring
Rotowire
Alcantara hit .370/.393/.630 with a pair of home runs, four RBI and a stolen base in Cactus League play.
Alcantara's two homers tied for the team lead during the exhibition slate while his 27 at-bats tied for first on the club. Still, the 28-year-old holds a career .189 average across 428 major-league at-bats, so his spring results aren't enough to cast Alcantara as a viable sleeper. He last played in the major leagues in 2017, though he did fare well at the Triple-A level last season, batting .294 with 13 home runs, 48 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 18 attempts.
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Angels' Arismendy Alcantara: Receives spring invite from LAA
Rotowire
Alcantara signed a minor-league deal that includes an invitation to spring training with the Angels on Tuesday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
Alcantara joined the Mets on a minor-league deal for 2019 and posted a .294/.358/.508 slash line with 13 home runs and 16 stolen bases in 92 games at Triple-A. The 28-year-old last saw the majors in 2017 with the Reds and struggled with a .435 OPS in 108 plate appearances.
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Mets' Arismendy Alcantara: Signs with Mets
Rotowire
Alcantara signed a minor-league contract with the Mets.
Alcantara spent the 2018 campaign in Mexico, slashing a combined .285/.353/.527 with 18 homers and 15 stolen bases in 95 games. He last appeared in the majors in 2017, when he struggled to a .171/.187/.248 line in 70 games with the Reds. He figures to serve as organizational outfield depth in 2019.
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Reds' Arismendy Alcantara: Outrighted to Double-A
Rotowire
Alcantara cleared waivers and was sent outright to Double-A Pensacola on Monday, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
Alcantara will stick in the Reds' system as an organizational depth piece after being dropped from their 40-man roster over the weekend. The 25-year-old slashed .171/.187/.248 in 105 at-bats for the big club this season.
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Reds' Arismendy Alcantara: Designated for assignment Saturday
Rotowire
Alcantara was designated for assignment by the Reds on Saturday.
The Reds needed to clear room for Saturday's starter, Scott Feldman (knee), and Alcantara was the resulting roster casualty. The 25-year-old was struggling as a utility player this season, slashing just .171/.187/.248 in 105 at-bats. He could draw some interest on waivers given his prior big-league experience, but he likely won't be anything more than an organizational depth piece wherever he ends up.
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Reds' Arismendy Alcantara: Young utility player unproductive on offense
Rotowire
Alcantara is hitting .191/.200/.277 with 33 strikeouts in 94 at-bats as a utility player with Cincinnati this season.
The biggest alarm for Alcantara is the high strikeout total -- it's nearly double the number of hits he has this season (18). At only 25 years old, it is probably too soon to declare him a player incapable of production in the majors, but he's looking like a fringe big-leaguer at the moment.
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Reds' Arismendy Alcantara: Struggling in reserve role
Rotowire
Alcantara has a .213/.222/.313 slash line with one home run in 81 plate appearances this season.
The Reds' utility man has seen time at every position besides first base, pitcher and catcher this season, but has been unable to find any consistency at the plate. The 25-year-old's defensive versatility is by far his biggest asset, as his career slash line of .199/.244/.333 doesn't provide much hope for a major turnaround in his current role.
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Reds' Arismendy Alcantara: Hits first homer of 2017
Rotowire
Alcantara went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run during Sunday's loss to Atlanta.
Alcantara has been starting sparingly and has just 56 plate appearances this season while filling a super-utility role. He owns a .255/.268/.382 slash line and offers very limited fantasy value. However, he has now started consecutive games in center field with Billy Hamilton and Scott Schebler both nursing shoulder injuries, so Alcantara could see a fleeting uptick in playing time.
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Reds' Arismendy Alcantara: Struggles in rare start
Rotowire
Alcantara picked up a spot start at second base Saturday, with the Reds giving Zack Cozart the day off. Alas, Alcantara went 0-for-5 in the loss to the Giants.
Alcantara had been on a roll, with seven consecutive hits prior to Friday night's extra-inning loss. He's hitting .313/.333/.438 on the season, mostly in a pinch-hitting capacity.
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Reds' Arismendy Alcantara: Rough defensive game Sunday
Rotowire
Alcantara committed two errors in Sunday's loss to the Brewers, both early in the game when rookie Sal Romano was on the mound. He went 0-for-3 with a walk at the plate.
Alcantara was getting a spot start to give Jose Peraza a day off, but struggled mightily early in this game. He's not really a threat to unseat Peraza, but his roster spot could become tenuous if he can't be counted upon defensively.
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Reds' Arismendy Alcantara: Batting second in lineup Sunday
Rotowire
Alcantara will start at second base and bat second in the order Sunday against the Brewers, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports.
With Jose Peraza resting, Alcantara will take both his spot in the field as well as the batting order, which could make him an intriguing, cost-effective DFS play. Like Peraza, the switch-hitting Alcantara possesses some speed, though he's yet to find much success as a base stealer during his time in the majors, as he owns just a 12-for-20 career success rate on the basepaths. Nonetheless, Alcantara's spot in the lineup between Billy Hamilton and Joey Votto could afford him some good running opportunities.
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Reds' Arismendy Alcantara: Roster slot more likely
Rotowire
Alcantara has a better chance of making the Reds' Opening Day roster following the release of Ryan Raburn, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon suggests.
Alcantara is out of options and has the ability to play multiple positions, both factors working in his favor of making the team. Alcantara had a rough start defensively this spring but has since stabilized and is hitting .293/.300/.569 in 60 spring training appearances.
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Reds' Arismendy Alcantara: Makes spring debut following thumb injury
Rotowire
Alcantara started in center field and batted second in the Reds' Cactus League opener on Friday.
The fact that Alcantara was able to make the start for Cincinnati would seem to indicate his thumb is feeling much better after spraining it back in December. The former Cub and Athletic is most likely a long shot at this point to make the Reds' opening day roster, but that could change with a very impressive spring training performance.
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Reds' Arismendy Alcantara: Out of options
Rotowire
Alcantara (thumb) enters spring training out of minor league options, perhaps enhancing his chances of making the big league roster out of spring training.
That's how the Reds were able to add Alcantara in the first place -- the Cubs tried to pass him through waivers off their 40-man roster.
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Reds' Arismendy Alcantara: Middle infield reps
Rotowire
Alcantara (thumb) will get some looks up the middle in addition the outfield in spring training.
Alcantara is behind Zack Cozart, Jose Peraza and Dilson Herrera up the middle, but the trade of Brandon Phillips cracks open the door for some playing time. Moreover, the Reds ultimately hope to trade Cozart and Alcantara might better profile as a utility player than Herrera. This all presumes that Alcantara's sprained thumb has fully healed.
