Luis Arraez will become a free agent after this season
Padres All-Star infielder facing uncertain free agent market originally appeared on The Sporting News
The San Diego Padres will have a tough decision to make on Luis Arraez this winter. The three-time batting champ will become a free agent this offseason, and should command a decent market for his services.
Arraez is one of the tougher players to evaluate in modern-day baseball. On one hand, he hardly ever strikes out and always hits for a high batting average. On the other, Arraez has virtually no power, and isn’t a superb defender in the field.
Arraez’s old-school hitting style could affect his free agency
This season, he’s slashing .287/.321/.385 with seven home runs and 57 RBI’s. As he enters his age-29 season in 2026, it remains to be seen how his old-school style will impact his value across the league.
Yahoo! Sports’ Jake Mintz named Arraez as one of the top 25 free agents available this winter, but doesn’t believe he will land as lucrative a deal as others may think due to his low-slugging tendencies.
“Arraez’s contact-heavy schtick has real value when he’s hitting .315, less so when he’s hitting .287, as he is this year,” Mintz said. “He remains a phenomenally entertaining character, genuinely unique and a wonderful change of pace from the league’s modern, slug-happy style. It’s just that his blend of low juice and poor defense won’t earn him the type of contract old heads might expect.”
Nonetheless, Arraez has still been a key factor in the Padres’ success in recent years, and is once again this season as the Padres are firmly in possession of the second Wild Card spot in the NL with only a handful of games remaining.
Category: Baseball
