Arbiters have ruled in favor of the Marlins in their arbitration hearing with infielder Luis Arráez, per Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. He’ll make a salary of $10.6M this year as opposed to the $12M he was seeking.
Arráez, 27 in April, is the best contact hitter in the game. Last year, he struck out in just 5.5% of his plate appearances, easily the best rate in the majors. Jeff McNeil of the Mets was second among qualified hitters at 10%. Arráez flirted with .400 for a while but ultimately finished the season with a batting average of “only” .354. Again, that was easily the best in the majors, with Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. second at .337.
The other parts of his game are a bit less impressive. He’s never been a huge power threat, with last year’s 10 home runs a new personal best. His second base defense is also questionable. Defensive Runs Saved considered him to be four better than par last year but Outs Above Average had him at a dismal -10. But thanks largely to his bat, FanGraphs considered him to be 3.4 wins above replacement on the year with Baseball Reference at 4.9.
He first qualified for arbitration going into 2022 as a Super Two player, then with the Twins. He and that club avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $2.125M salary. He and the Twins didn’t agree to a 2023 salary prior to that year’s deadline but he was traded to the Marlins prior to the hearing. He ended up beating the Fish in that case, earning $6.1M last year instead of the $5M filing figure.
Going into the 2023-24 offseason, MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a $10.8M salary this year. The club and the player’s camp filed on either side of that figure, but arbiters have to choose one figure or the other and can’t choose a middle ground number, siding with the Marlins this time. Arráez will be eligible for one more pass through arbitration for his 2025 salary, after which he’s slated to become a free agent.
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