Let's not kid ourselves here, and just preface this by saying Texas Rangers catcher-turned-first baseman J.P. Arencibia is still arguably the worst player to have seen the majors for the Rangers this year, and that's saying a lot considering the list of no-names who have made their way through Arlington at different points this season.
He still isn't hitting his weight, nor is he getting on base at that level, and he's struggled this year to have more total bases than strikeouts. But since being recalled after the all-star break after a productive stint in Triple-A, Arencibia has been better, which is a very relative term.
In his 10 starts in those 11 games since the break ended, Arencibia has seven hits. Of those seven hits, three are long balls and they've resulted in nine RBIs. So yeah, he's still bad — batting just .179 in that span — but when he does manage to do something, it usually makes an impact.
The latest big swing came on Monday night when his two-run single broke a 2-2 tie and gave the Rangers the decisive 4-2 difference in their win over the Yankees to open a three-game series and get Yu Darvish his 10th win of the season.
It's not time to throw a parade in Arencibia's honor, but by all accounts he's a positive influence in the room and lately, he's been a positive guy on the field, too, with nine of the club's 30 RBIs since the break.
