Joaquín Árias (baseball)

New York Yankees

Árias signed with the New York Yankees as an international free agent in 2001. He batted .266 for the Battle Creek Yankees of the Class A Midwest League in 2003.

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers acquired Árias on March 23, 2004, completing a trade made 36 days earlier on February 16 that sent Alex Rodriguez to the New York Yankees for Alfonso Soriano. Among five Yankees prospects offered to the Rangers, Árias was selected over Robinson Canó because he was a more polished defender and two years younger. Árias made his Major League debut with the Rangers on September 13, 2006, drawing a walk.

New York Mets

Árias was designated for assignment on August 24, 2010 and traded to the New York Mets on August 31 for Jeff Francoeur.

Kansas City Royals

On November 4, 2010, Árias was claimed off waivers by the Kansas City Royals, but the Royals designated Árias for assignment on December 19 to make room on the 40-man roster for the prospects acquired in the Zack Greinke trade.

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants signed Árias to a minor league contract on December 15, 2011. After spending the 2012 Spring training with the Giants, he was assigned to Fresno Grizzlies, Giants' Triple-A affiliate, on April 5. He played 18 games for the Grizzlies, hitting .400 with 2 home runs and 17 runs batted in (RBIs). The Giants called up Árias on April 25.

2012

Árias hit his first major-league home run in his 331st career major-league at-bat on May 22, 2012. The two-run homer off Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Shaun Marcum gave San Francisco a 4–0 lead in the 4th inning of a game the Giants would go on to win by a score of 6–4. On June 13, 2012, playing third base, Árias fielded the ball and threw to first base for the final out of Matt Cain's perfect game. On August 22, 2012, he accumulated a single-game career high of five RBIs. In total Árias appeared in 112 games of the 2012 regular season, batting .270 with 5 home runs and 34 RBIs. He was also hit by pitches a team-high 5 times.

The Giants finished the 2012 season as World Series Champions. During the postseason Árias appeared in 12 games, all of them as a mid- to late-inning replacement. On October 10, during the Division Series against the Cincinnati Reds, Árias entered the game in the fourth inning and had two hits in three times at bat. Both hits were doubles, after both of which Árias eventually scored runs in a game the Giants won 8–3. Overall for the postseason, Árias went 3-for-8 (.375) with three runs scored.

2013

On June 24, 2013, Árias left a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second inning with a left hamstring injury after scoring from second base on a double by Enoc Mora. The injury only sidelined Árias for a little over a week and he took the field for the Giants against the Cincinnati Reds on July 3. However, his return proved to be short-lived when he required an emergency appendectomy late on the night of July 7. The following day the Giants placed him on the 15-day disabled list. He was re-activated and returned to the team on July 26. Árias started 47 games, appeared in 102 games, batting .271 with 19 RBIs.

2014

On January 23, 2014, Árias and the Giants agreed on a two-year, $2.6-million contract. Árias appeared in 107 games, batting .254 with 15 RBIs. In the 2014 postseason, Árias appeared in 8 games, batting 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored, as the Giants won the 2014 World Series.

2015

On April 28, 2015, Árias hit 3-for-3 off Clayton Kershaw, becoming the first Giant get three hits off Kershaw in one game. Árias appeared in 40 games, batting .207, before being designated for assignment on July 27. Árias cleared waivers and was assigned to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On December 13, 2015, Árias signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was released on March 31, 2016.