The first major trade of the MLB season arrived last night. The Miami Marlins sent two-time batting champion Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres for four minor leaguers.
No one is more adept at putting bat to ball than Arraez. The 27-year-old second baseman has a .324 career batting average with 180 walks and only 176 strikeouts over his six-year career. His 7.5% strikeout rate is by far the best in MLB since he debuted in 2019, with no one else below 9.3%. The only other qualified players in that timeframe with more walks than strikeouts are Alex Bregman and Juan Soto.
He led the American League with a .316 batting average for the Minnesota Twins in 2022, then was traded to Miami where he hit .354 last year. This season, he has a .299/.347/.372 slash line and has yet to hit a home run. He has a $10.6 million salary and two more years of arbitration eligibility before reaching free agency.
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