The Padres have interest in retaining free-agent infielder Luis Arraez, AJ Preller said. 

Arraez, 28, is known for his bat and is coming off a season in which he hit .292/.327/.392 with a .719 OPS, eight home runs and 61 RBI. In his seven-year career, he’s hitting .317/.363/.413 with a .777 OPS, 36 home runs and 308 RBI. ESPN projected Arraez to sign a two-year, $17 million contract this offseason. 

https://fansided.com/mlb/everything-im-hearing-cubs-paul-skenes-braves-brewers-gm-meetings

26 comments

  1. 2 years 17 million is definitely more stomach able. That’s actually not that bad, considering he could be much better than last season

  6. He batted .355 for the month of April. Then, *CONCUSSION*. In September he batted .352, furtherest removed from concussion. He showed flashes of greatness in July batting .323, but couldn’t quite find a rhythm. His down year was injury related. He won a batting title in 2024 with a torn thumb ligament, and in 2025, with a concussion, he still had the most hits in the NL, the highest avg on the Padres, and the lowest K% in all of MLB. So many fans lost patience with him, but we have to remember that concussions are serious business. Being further removed from said injury, I hope he can return back to form. Besides, they traded a good grip of prospects for him, probably worth keeping him for longer than 2 seasons.

    EDIT: bat him 4th so he has runners on base with him at the plate. 2 isn’t a bad spot for him, but it’s not a bad idea to mix it up, and give him more chances to swing with runners on. Order should be Tatís, Merrill, Machado, Arraez, Laureano, Sheets (?), Xander, Jake, Fermin. I like having a little thump with Laureano in the middle, no easy 1-2-3 anywhere.

  7. If the price is right I don’t mind it. He could have a bounceback year with a new hitting coach.

  9. Haven’t we noticed this team needs slug? He plays 1st and DH which is where we could more easily add slug.

  10. This tells me they probably don’t have the money for Naylor, but even still, I’d mich rather have O’Hearn

  11. Arraez enjoyed his time here in SD so I’m hoping he will want to sign a team friendly deal. 2/17 as what’s being reported is honestly very good. 3/25 wouldn’t be bad either 

  12. He just can’t be the primary 1B on a team that desperately needs more SLG. It’s too bad he can’t play a better 2B. You could consider trading Crone or turning him into the super utility guy (though he’s expensive for that role) but defensively that’s a huge downgrade.

  13. What else do you expect Preller to say to a national reporter? “Oh no, we have no interest.”

  17. If we resign him, Stammen needs to have the balls to play and bat Arraez where it makes sense. This would be his first major test as manager that everyone will judge him by

  18. Arraez seems like a good guy, I cannot stomach the thought of a second manager constantly putting him in the 2 hole again.

  19. With Shildt leaving, I’m actually in favor of this move. Shildt didn’t adapt and move Arraez down to 7-9 in the order where he should have been. He’s definitely a bounce back candidate, and will be making less money.

    He’s also just a gem of a human being and everyone absolutely loves him in that clubhouse.

  20. Considering the budget constraints hinted by ownership and the massive holes in SP (and slug), I’d say signing Arraez is extremely unlikely unless he’d be willing to sign for like 3M max a year.

  22. I think people here forget slugging wins you a WS.

    And signing a singles merchant who’s had a sub .400 slugging the past 2 years to play 1B isn’t gonna help.

  24. Meh. I looked at his baseball reference and yes he did have a down year last year, but it’s been apart of a trend since the beginning of his career (seriously go look).

    Since he’s a slapstick hitter, on-base percentage is his only real value. He needs to be the leadoff guy to feed the 2-4 slots. But with his OBP slipping, you can’t have him there. You most definitely can’t have him in the 2-4 spots with the higher risk of double plays and lack of power. 5-6 would be Boegarts and Cronenworth. That leaves 7-8, but that far in the lineup you want reserved for your average hitters or below average hitters with above average defense – which Arraez does not have.

    I love the man, but I just don’t see where he fits on this team for anything more than 3-5 million per year. But even at that price I think I’d rather take the gamble on a younger prospect.

    Unfortunately baseball is baseball. I see a player in a consistent and steep decline. He just happened to start so high it’s taken him 9 seasons to get here.

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