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Luis Arraez had surgery Wednesday to repair a torn ligament in his thumb. The three-time All-Star announced the news himself on X, while Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extrabase added that the Padres expect to have him back at full health in time for spring training.
Arraez had been playing through the pain since mid-June when he tore a ligament in his left thumb on a slide into third base. He sat out the All-Star Game to rest the injured digit but otherwise played in 70 of the Padres’ final 78 games and all seven of their postseason contests.
However, he knew surgery would be necessary if he was going to make a proper recovery, and once the Padres were eliminated from the playoffs, he went under the knife.
With an NL-best .314 batting average, Arraez claimed his third consecutive batting title this season, but his overall numbers weren’t nearly as impressive as they’ve been in the recent past.
After putting up a .829 OPS and 130 wRC+ from 2022 to 2023, Arraez produced a .739 OPS and 109 wRC+ in 2024. Those are still above-average numbers, but that level of offense isn’t great coming from a poor defensive first baseman/terrible defensive second baseman.
Unfortunately, Arraez can’t blame all of his struggles on his thumb; he hit .310 with a 106 wRC+ before the injury and .319 with a 113 wRC+ after. At the same time, that’s not to say the torn ligament didn’t have any effect. His Statcast expected wOBA on contact fell from .335 before the injury to .312 afterward. It’s possible the pain from the injury prevented him from hitting the ball quite as hard.
Despite his down year, Arraez should be one of the highest-paid arbitration-eligible players next season, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a $14.6M salary for the infielder in 2025.
It’s his final year of team control, so he’ll look to get back to full strength and perform more like his 2022-23 self, either to earn a bigger contract in free agency or an extension from San Diego.
The Padres will hope for the same since the best version of Arraez can be an excellent table-setter atop the lineup in front of hitters like Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill.
More must-reads:
- Every MLB franchise's leader in all-time postseason home runs
- Astros get pitching help just in the nick of time
- The '2022 MLB RBI leaders' quiz
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Astros get pitching help just in the nick of time
While the Houston Astros have seen their American League West Division lead shrink to a half-game over the hard-charging Seattle Mariners, they have managed to do so with a makeshift pitching rotation. The Astros have had numerous starting pitchers, ranging from Lance McCullers Jr. to Luis Garcia, out of action with injuries. But the team revealed after beating the New York Yankees 7-1 on Sunday that another pitcher will return to the rotation. Cristian Javier, who has been out of action since last season, will get the start on Monday night when the Astros open a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Daikin Park in Houston, according to Leah Vann of Chron.com. While Javier's return gets highlighted, a couple of other players are going to be in the spotlight, too. Monday's game will be the first time that Carlos Correa has played in front of the Astros fan base since being acquired from the Minnesota Twins. Correa will play third base and be able to look out from the Astros' dugout and see a friendly face there for Boston. That's right. Alex Bregman, who played third base for the Astros previously, comes back to face the team. The Astros saw Bregman over a week ago when the Red Sox swept Houston in a three-game series at Fenway Park. Yet let's not bury Javier in this news. Javier has been out for 14 months since undergoing Tommy John surgery. He's made some starts down at the Astros' Triple-A club in Sugar Land, Texas. Javier has been able to show off his array of pitches and record some solid outings. In his final rehab start for the Space Cowboys, Javier went 3 2/3 innings, giving up one run and two hits along with six strikeouts. Javier walked four in the outing. Based on this and his other rehab work, Astros manager Joe Espada put Javier in the Monday night opener. This will be Javier's first start for the Astros since May 21, 2024. After Javier, Spencer Arrighetti, who also just returned from the Injured List, and Hunter Brown round out the Astros' starting rotation for the Red Sox series. Javier has played a pivotal role in the Astros' success during his tenure with the team. He pitched six innings of a combined no-hitter in Game 4 of the 2022 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Astros are hopeful that they can get other players, like slugger Yordan Alvarez, back on the 40-man roster soon. They are going to need all hands on deck to thwart the Mariners and stay atop the AL West. Javier's return is a solid step in the right direction.
Eagles get big injury scare at practice regarding key starter
The Philadelphia Eagles got a major injury scare during Sunday's open practice at Lincoln Financial Field when Pro Bowl guard Landon Dickerson went down with a leg injury and had to be carted off to the locker room. Dickerson was reportedly unable to put any weight on his leg. Dickerson, a second-round pick (No. 37 overall) by the team in 2021 has been a starter for the Eagles over the first four years of his career and developed into one of the best offensive linemen in football. He has been named to the Pro Bowl team in each of the past three seasons and is a key cog on the Eagles' line. The Eagles' O-line is one of the team's biggest strengths and a big part of its identity, and Dickerson has taken over as one of the top leaders on that group. The Eagles are already dealing with some depth issues on the interior of their line after backup Kenyon Green had to be carted off the field in their opening preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals. If Dickerson has to miss any significant time that would be a huge blow to the Eagles' offense and their running game. But it's still very early in the process and the Eagles will almost certainly know more by Monday. The Eagles were the second-leading rushing team in the NFL during the 2024 season, averaging 179 yards per game. Running back Saquon Barkley ran for over 2,000 yards as part of their season, with the offensive line playing a huge role in both of those achievements.
Green Bay Packers Fans, Relax; It’s Week 1 Of The Preseason
Preseason football is a strange beast. On one hand, it’s undeniably exciting to see your team take the field after months of anticipation. On the other hand, expectations can mislead you, especially when things don’t go according to plan. Case in point—fans of the Green Bay Packers are reeling after their preseason loss to the New York Jets on August 9, 2025. A sluggish offense, a defense that couldn’t quite contain the Jets’ playmaking, and dropped opportunities all coalesced into a performance that felt like a disappointment to the faithful Cheeseheads. But here’s the thing—it’s preseason. And while the frustration is understandable, it’s important to pull back and keep things in perspective. Green Bay Packers: Déjà Vu from Preseason 2024 For longtime Green Bay Packers fans, the sky-is-falling reaction to a preseason loss might feel eerily familiar. Flashback to just a year ago, when Green Bay faced the Denver Broncos in a similarly rough matchup. The Packers didn’t score a single touchdown that day, which prompted plenty of panicked grumbles about the offense’s viability heading into the season. They only managed two points, and that was the second preseason game. And how did that work out? They finished 11-6, making the playoffs for the second consecutive year with Love under center. If there’s one thing Packers fans should have learned from last year, it’s this simple truth—preseason wins and losses are about as predictive of regular-season success as the flip of a coin. It’s not about the scoreline but rather the opportunity for the coaching staff to evaluate talent, test new systems, and shake off some offseason rust. Growing Pains Are a Good Thing Look, no one wants to lose—even in the preseason. But treating mistakes and struggles as warning sirens does a disservice to what preseason football is all about. These games serve three main purposes: Experimentation: Coaches get the chance to be bold with their playcalling and personnel. Packages that might be too high-risk during the regular season are put on display in these lower-stakes moments. Development: For younger players adjusting to the pro level, this is a prime opportunity to make mistakes, learn, and grow. Jordan Love looked a bit shaky at times against the Jets—it happens. But the more reps he gets, the better he’ll be when Week 1 rolls around. Evaluation: Preseason is when the roster battles come to life. Does that position group have solid depth? Is that rookie ready to contribute? Counts like these can only truly be settled on the field. For the Packers, the loss to the Jets highlights areas of improvement but shouldn’t overshadow the long-term goals for this team. Offensive Rust Isn’t Cause for Panic Much of the angst from the Jets game focuses on the offense. Love didn’t look crisp, the offensive line missed a few key assignments, and the receivers dropped a couple of catchable balls. It wasn’t pretty. But anyone looking at these struggles as proof of impending doom is missing the larger picture. Preseason games are often disjointed by design. Starters see limited time, rotations are fluid, and the execution is rarely polished. What matters is the process, not the outcome. Last year, the same criticisms were lobbed at Green Bay’s offense after the loss to Denver. Yet, when it counted, they found their rhythm and became a top-10 scoring unit over the course of the season. Could the same be true this year? Absolutely. Defensive Lapses Highlight Work-in-Progress Areas Green Bay’s defense didn’t escape the magnifying glass, either. Struggles against the Jets’ second-team offense disappointed some fans, especially with a few long completions allowed in the secondary. But here’s the reality—preseason defenses are notoriously vanilla. Coordinators avoid revealing their hand, sticking instead to basic schemes. Once the regular season arrives, you’ll see the Packers deploy more complex looks designed to fluster opposing quarterbacks. Rest assured, defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley will use the tape from this game as a teaching tool. Teams that can identify and correct their flaws in August win games in November. The Optimistic Takeaway While hard to see after a frustrating game, adversity is an essential part of success. Preseason obstacles give players and coaches the opportunity to refine their craft. Last year, the Green Bay Packers used its preseason flop as a springboard for improvement. There’s every chance the Jets game will serve the same purpose. This Packers team is loaded with talent, from a promising quarterback in Jordan Love to a stacked corps of skill players. Add in a defense brimming with upside, and the foundation for a strong season remains intact. Final Thoughts Green Bay Packers fans, take a deep breath and step back from the ledge. A preseason loss doesn’t mean the sky is falling, no matter how discouraging certain moments feel in the short term. If anything, rough games like these are exactly what the team needs to address weaknesses before the games start to count. Remember Denver last year? The lack of touchdowns and disconnect on the field felt catastrophic for exactly one week—until Green Bay found its stride when it mattered most. Trust the process, and trust that the Packers will use this preseason tune-up for exactly what it is—a chance to grow, learn, and improve.
Cowboys' Micah Parsons gives Giants' rookie pass-rusher the ultimate compliment
Abdul Carter showed flashes of dominance in his preseason debut with the New York Giants on Saturday, and fellow pass-rusher Micah Parsons believes fans are going to see a lot more of that for years to come. Carter was disruptive on several plays at the line of scrimmage during the Giants' 34-25 win over the Buffalo Bills. He showed tremendous burst and appeared to get into the backfield with ease, and that was against Buffalo's first-team offense. On Sunday, Parsons shared a video on social media that showed Carter giving the Bills fits. Parsons also paid the rookie a massive compliment. "They asked me if Abdul could be a (sic) another great ! I told them he could be the best one!" Parsons wrote on X. Carter responded by telling Parsons he can't wait to see the four-time Pro Bowl linebacker "get paid what you EARNED!!" Parsons and Carter are both Penn State alumni. They each wore the No. 11, which is a famous jersey number for the Nittany Lions and has been worn by some of the best players in program history. Parsons, of course, has already established himself as one of the best defensive players in football. He is currently in a contract standoff with the Dallas Cowboys. Carter was the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. If he lives up to expectations, he should be just as productive as Parsons in relatively short order.
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