A Diamondbacks’ division rival has swung a massive trade, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports the San Diego Padres are close to acquiring 2023 National League batting champion Luis Arraez from the Miami Marlins. Craig Mish reports the players going to Miami are prospects Dillon Head, Woo-Suk Go, Jakob Marsee, and Nathan Martorella. Head, Marsee, and Martorella rank as the No. 6, 9, and 13 prospects in the Padres organization.
Arraez, 27, is a career .324 hitter in 569 games with the Minnesota Twins and Miami Marlins. After coming up with the Twins, he was traded to the Marlins in exchange for Pablo Lopez before the 2023 season. He was a key bat at the top of the Marlins order, leading all major league hitters with a .354 batting average, and helping them make an improbable run for a National League Wild Card spot.
The National League West has seen a lot of talent enter the division since the start of the previous offseason. The Dodgers added Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow, who have gotten off to a hot start in 2024. The Padres already added Dylan Cease in a trade on March 13th. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo’s reaction the day after the Cease trade sums it up best.
The Padres already feature a starting infield of Jake Cronenworth, Xander Bogaerts, Ha-Seong Kim, and Tyler Wade, from first base to third base. Graham Pauley and Eguy Rosario serve as bench pieces. Arraez plays both first and second base, got mixed reviews on his glovework at second in 2023. Sports Info Solution’s Defensive Runs Saved metric credits him with 4 DRS in 1124 innings, while Baseball Savant’s Fielding Run Value at -8. The metrics both paint him as a poor defender in 2024, with -4 DRS and -5 fielding runs in 281 innings. With infielders that can play multiple positions, the Padres would have the option to mix and match their infielders to suit their lineup.
The Padres play the Diamondbacks this weekend at Chase Field, sitting with a 17-18 record and in second place of the National League West.
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