Blockbuster in May - Padres Trade For Batting Champ Luis Arraez
PADRES
You read that correctly. The San Diego Padres have made another move to put them a step closer to become World Series favorites! Knabbing INF/DH Luis Arraez from the Miami Marlins in exchange for OF Dillon Head, OF Jakob Marsee, RHP Woo-Suk Go and 1B Nathan Martorella.
Making this move so early in the year shows testament towards what the Padres are trying to achieve. Over the past few years they have gone above and beyond in free agency, locking down their current stars, and trading for options to get them into contention. Trading for RHP Dylan Cease in the offseason, RHP Joe Musgrove and RHP Yu Darvish in 2021, INF Xander Bogaerts in 2023, INF Ha-Seong Kim in 2021. That list doesn’t even include the start of this push, getting INF Manny Machado in 2019 or signing OF Fernando Tatis Jr to a long term deal.
All that being said, the Padres don't have a deep roster. Their main guys may all be top tier on the diamond, but there isn't depth behind them. The reason for this trade is because with Machado finally back at the hot corner, after nursing back a shoulder issue he has had at DH, they now have a hole at DH. How hard could that hurt a champion contending team? Being that the person's only job is to drop some doinks on the field, significantly.
Adding Arraez to a lineup that is already performing above expectations, sitting in the top 10 in; Home Runs, Doubles, Batting Average, On-Base Percentage, Slugging Percentage, and OPS. Plus top 5 in; Hits, RBI’s, and Triples. To confirm, that's the league, not conference, in the entire MLB. Arraez brings more consistent pop to the lineup, as well as fewer whiffs at the plate. This doesn't go without any concerns though.
Luis tends to fall apart on the basepaths. He has also never been known as a Gold Glove per say. He can fill in in an infield that ranks top 10 when someone goes down. But, isn't desired, same goes for outfield. Will work in a pinch but not someone you want every day, especially in the instance of the Padres.
Dishing three prospects and a KBO veteran for a dependable bat will be hard to judge upfront. As of course, the prospects have yet to build their future, and Go still needs to prove himself in the US. Especially being that this does not solve a depth issue the Padres continue to have. In part because they continue to give away any prospects they have in package deals.
Arraez is a MLB hitter in the present day. Ready to go now. That's what matters.
Padres Grade: A-
MARLINS
Now for Maimi… It is no secret they had one of the worst starts in MLB this year. The prospects they received are not for sure bets in the majors. Arraez was and is, at least for the foreseeable future. Considering they traded for Arraez straight up sending away a top pitcher in baseball Pablo Lopez. And only got just one full season out of him, is this really the play to make. The move towards a contending future?
With the history of the Marlins, that of trading away all of their young talented stars, and never turning the pieces they get into talented stars. Even if they do find a way to turn these prospects into generational talents, what's the point? They will just ship them off, right at the glimpse of their future.
But this also begs the questions, was it too early? Are they shipping Luis off too early in the season? Don't get me wrong, at 9-25 (as of the writing of this story) it's a tough ask. But there is a lot of season left. Why not turn some of your other pieces into a couple fine young players? The Marlins can't simply think the season is over 34 games into a 162 game season. Can they? Again, I understand, throwing in the towel, August, July, hell even June. But the first week of May? I'm curious how the Miami fan base feels about this move!
