Rangers sign free agent C J.P. Arencibia to one-year contract
Former first round pick has spent entire career in Toronto organization
Lake Buena Vista, Fla. - The Texas Rangers formally announced today that the club has signed free agent catcher J.P. Arencibia to a one-year contract for the 2014 season. Financial terms were not disclosed, per club policy.
Arencibia, who turns 28 next month, has a total of 62 home runs over the past three seasons, the fourth-highest total among any major league catcher in that span behind only Matt Wieters (67), Carlos Santana (65), and Brian McCann (64). He joins the other three players on that list as the only catchers with at least 18 home runs in each of the last three campaigns. Arencibia batted .194 with 21 home runs, 18 doubles, and 55 RBI in a career-high 138 games for the Blue Jays in 2013, and his 131 games behind the plate ranked third in the American League.
Over 11 career games at Rangers Ballpark, Arencibia has batted .256 (11-43) with 7 home runs, 10 RBI, and 8 runs scored. Two of his 7 career multi-homer games have come in Arlington, with the other 5 occurring in Toronto. He has 4 home runs in his last 4 games at Rangers Ballpark. He also owns a .360 (9-25) career average with the bases loaded.
Arencibia has spent his entire career in the Toronto organization after being selected in the first round (21st overall) of the 2007 June draft out of the University of Tennessee. He is a career .212 hitter with 64 home runs and 193 RBI over 380 career games for the Blue Jays. Arencibia's 63 career home runs as a catcher rank second in Blue Jays history. Seattle also drafted him in the 17th round in 2004 out of Miami's Westminster Christian High School, but he elected to attend Tennessee.
With today's move, Texas has 39 players on its major league roster.