How They Got Here: The San Francisco Giants is a
one-by-one look at how each member of the 2012 World Series Champion San
Francisco Giants found their way to the squad. We'll look at all of the
players on the roster, as well as notable players who did not make the
postseason roster for whatever reason and the coaching staff and general
manager. Part nine tells us about infielder Joaquin Arias.
Joaquin Arias was born on September 21, 1984, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He went undrafted, and wasn't signed until 2001, when the New York Yankees took a chance on him. Arias began his career with the Gulf Coast League Yankees at the Rookie level, where he posted a .300 batting average and twenty-one runs batted in during the 2002 season. Arias moved up to the Class A Midwest League in 2003, where he played with the Battle Creek Yankees in Battle Creek, Michigan. Here, he hit .266 with three home runs and forty-eight runs batted in. Arias got his first time in the headlines in 2004, although it had nothing to do with his performance on the field. Instead, he completed the February 16, 2004 deal between the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees. The deal, commonly known as the Alex Rodriguez trade, sent Rodriguez to the Yankees with cash in exchange for another well-known player, Alfonso Soriano, and a player to be named later. Arias was that player, picked from an offering of five prospects that included now-star second baseman Robinson Cano. For the 2004 season, he played in the California League with the Stockton Ports of Stockton, California at the Class A Advanced level. Again, he hit .300, this time with four home runs and sixty-two runs batted in, as well as thirty stolen bases, establishing a speedy reputation. In 2005, Arias again stepped up, going to Class AA Frisco to play with the Roughriders in the Texas League. He hit .315 with five home runs and fifty-six runs batted in. This performance earned him a spot with the Oklahoma RedHawks of Oklahoma City in the Pacific Coast League at the Class AAA level. His numbers tailed off a bit for the 2006 season, as he hit only .268 with four home runs and forty-nine runs batted in, although he racked up twenty-six stolen bases as well. He also earned a call-up to the major league Texas Rangers, appearing in six games with a large amount of success. Arias was on the wrong end of luck for 2007, appearing in only five games the whole season, and due to injury, he sat out the rest of the year. He was back in Oklahoma City for the 2008, and so were his numbers, as he posted a .296 batting average with seven home runs and forty-nine runs batted in. He also returned to the majors, beginning on August 18th, and he would hit .291 with three home runs and nine runs batted in during his limited time. Arias didn't stick with the big league Rangers for 2009, appearing in only three midsummer games with them, failing to get on base, while the rest of his season was spent with the RedHawks. He had a down year there as well, hitting only .266 with five home runs and fifty-two runs batted in, but managed to find his way back to the Texas Rangers for the 2010 season. He began the year in Arlington, and spent most of his time there, although he appeared with the Frisco Roughriders for eight games to rehabilitate an injury in May. Arias started out strong with the Rangers, but was traded on August 31 to the New York Mets in exchange for Jeff Francoeur and cash. Oddly enough, at the end of the disappointing 2010 campaign, Arias was selected off of waivers by the Kansas City Royals on November 4th, and just over a month later, Francoeur signed a free agent deal with the Royals as well. He never played for the big league Royals squad, being designated for assignment on December 19th, and playing the season with the Omaha Storm Chasers of the Pacific Coast League. Arias had very weak numbers in Omaha during the 2011 season, and was granted free agency on November 2nd. On December 15th, the San Francisco Giants signed him, and he began the season with their Class AAA affiliate, the Fresno Grizzlies of the Pacific Coast League. He was called up to the Giants on April 25, 2012, and spent the rest of the season with them. During the year, he hit his first major league home run (he finished with five for the year), as well as fielding the final out of Matt Cain's perfect game on June 13th. His season statistics included a .270 batting average and thirty-four runs batted in to go with his five home runs mentioned above. The 2012 season also brought Arias his first postseason experience, where he was mostly used as a ninth inning defensive replacement at third base for the rotund Pablo Sandoval. He went three for eight in the postseason, and his defensive prowess was much appreciated on the way to the Giants' 2012 World Series Championship.
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