Arencibia was signed by the Rays to a minor league deal Thursday, the Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin reports.

He will report to Triple-A Durham and it would be surprising if a team as smart as the Rays opted to ever use him in the big leagues at catcher on a semi-regular basis, given his track record of being sub-replacement level.

Arencibia (arm) was released by the Orioles on Thursday, MASN's Roch Kubatko reports.

Even with Matt Wieters (elbow) unavailable to start the season, Arencibia was only fourth on the organizational catching depth chart. The free-swinging veteran will likely have to settle for a Triple-A role wherever he lands, following terrible seasons in 2013 and 2014.

Arencibia was reassigned to minor league camp Monday.

He had a cortisone injection due to a strained flexor mass Monday, so all in all, Arencibia has definitely had better days. While Matt Wieters (elbow) has had a setback in his recovery, the Orioles obviously prefer Caleb Joseph and Steve Clevenger to Arencibia at this point.

Arencibia had a cortisone injection Monday due to a strained flexor mass, Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com reports.

The Orioles will shut Arencibia down for a few days, which could put his chance of sticking on the Opening Day roster in doubt.

Arencibia (arm) is expected to return Sunday for Baltimore's split-squad game, MASN Sports reports.

Arencibia was scratched Thursday and was not at his locker Friday. His chances of making the Orioles look slim after a subpar spring. Arencibia is 2-for-17 with seven strikeouts in nine games and he recently made an error in the field. Ryan Lavarnway and Steve Clevenger have better chances of serving as the backup catcher until Matt Wieters is healthy.

Arencibia was scratched from Thursday's game due to a right flexor mass, Brittany Ghiroli of Orioles.com reports.

Arencibia was slated to catch a minor league game Thursday, but he'll be held out and evaluated by the team's medical staff. At this point, it's unknown if he'll miss additional time. The veteran is in competition to serve as Baltimore's backup catcher in 2015.

Arencibia remains an option to serve as the backup catcher for the Orioles at the beginning of the season, MLB.com reports.

Arencibia is not on the 40-man roster and is just 2-for-17 with two singles and seven strikeouts this spring. Ryan Lavarnway and Steve Clevenger are also in the mix and Arencibia looks like a long shot at this point.

Arencibia is finalizing a deal to sign with the Orioles on a minor league contract, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports.

Arencibia split his 2014 season between Triple-A and the majors, and while he is signing a minor league deal, he'll get an invite to spring training so he could work his way onto the big league roster. The 29-year-old hit 10 homers in 63 big league games in 2014, but slashed just .177/.239/.369, so if he does crack the roster it will likely be just in a reserve role.

Arencibia has elected free agency, Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest reports.

Arencibia enjoyed some success immediately upon his return to the big club in July, compiling a .255/.300/.617 batting line with five homers and 16 RBI that month, but things predictably went south shortly thereafter. All told, Arencibia hit .177/.239/.369 in 63 games with the major league team, resulting in his outright assignment to Triple-A at the end of the year. He'll explore his opportunities elsewhere, but Arencibia seems destined to open 2015 as organizational filler.

Arencibia was outrighted to Triple-A Round Rock on Monday.

Arencibia had a hot stretch at the plate last season, but over the course of his career he actually has a negative WAR (Fangraphs version), so it's no surprise to see the Rangers remove him from the 40-man roster as there will be an influx of healthy, young players to the roster this spring.

Arencibia was 1-for-5 with a go-ahead three-run homer in ninth inning to beat the Athletics.

The Rangers got to A's closer Sean Doolittle for five runs in the ninth, but the big hit was Arencibia's blast. The 28-year-old continues to be an all or nothing hitter as 10 of his 34 hits in 2014 have left the yard.

Arencibia has played in just 10 of the last 17 games and figures to continue to lose playing time at the expense of younger played like Ryan Rua, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Arencibia was hitting homers, and little else, when he was getting regular at-bats in early August but regular playing time will be hard to come by during the final four weeks.

Arencibia is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Astros, according to Rangers VP of Comm. John Blake.

Arencibia has played regularly for the Rangers of late, but he is hitting just .141 in August, so he will sit Friday for the second time in three days. Ryan Rua will man first base for the Rangers on Friday.

Arencibia is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Mariners, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports.

After starting four straight games, Arencibia will get a rest with the Rangers playing a day game after a night game. The lefty-hitting Mike Carp steps into the lineup at first base, bumping Arencibia to the bench.

Arencibia is out of the lineup again Friday against the Angels.

Friday will mark Arencibia's third straight game out of the lineup, as it appears he is starting to lose playing time at first base. Given his .175 batting average with the club and his 1-for-22 performance at the plate over his last six starts, it wouldn't be surprising if his playing time continues to be cut.

Arencibia is out of the lineup Thursday vs. the Rays.

With Alex Rios forced to man the DH spot as he recovers from an ankle injury, Arencibia will lose out on the remaining starting nod at first base to Mike Carp for the second straight night.

Arencibia is out of the lineup Wednesday vs. the Rays.

Arencibia has made some occasional noise since his July 17 call-up with a few home run binges, but he's fallen into his usual bad habits in recent contests. He's reached base just once in his last four games, spanning 16 plate appearances. There's a good chance that Mike Carp eventually displaces him as the team's top first base/DH option within the next week.

Arencibia his his eighth homer of the season on Friday facing the Astros, as he went 1-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI.

Although Arencibia is only hitting a measly .195 on the year, he's managing to make the most of his hits. Since being called up on July 18 and getting inserted as a regular starter with the Rangers, Arencibia has smacked seven homers, scored 10 runs and driven in 22 RBI while raising his seasonal batting average from .143 to .195.

Arencibia had another fantastic night at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a walk and four RBI, while slugging his seventh home run of the year and adding a double in Tuesday's win over the White Sox.

Granted it was not the two-home run, seven-RBI outburst like last Tuesday's performance against the Yankees, Arencibia still got the job done Tuesday. Arencibia has been mostly hit or miss this year and went 2-for-12 in between the two big outings. He now possesses a mediocre .198/.261/.421 slash line in 121 at-bats this year.

Arencibia isn't in the lineup Monday against the White Sox in Chicago, John Blake of the Rangers' official site reports.

Despite faring well at the plate since his contract was purchased after the All-Star break -- .232/.306/.536 line with five homers in 56 at-bats -- Arencibia will hand over first base to newcomer Mike Carp, at least for one day.