Padres acquire INF Luis Arraez from Marlins
SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Padres have acquired infielder Luis Arráez and cash considerations from the Miami Marlins in exchange for first baseman Nathan Martorella, outfielders Dillon Head and Jakob Marsee, and right-handed pitcher Woo-Suk Go, President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller announced today.
A two-time batting champion (.316 in AL in 2022, .354 in NL 2023) and two-time All-Star (2022-23), Arráez is hitting .299 (41-for-137) with a .347 OBP, eight doubles, one triple, five RBI and 22 runs scored in 33 games this season. The 27-year-old has hit safely in 17 of his last 21 games (.333 AVG) after beginning the season with a .234 average over his first 12 games. In 2023, Arráez finished 8th in NL MVP voting after setting career highs in average, OBP (.393), SLG (.469), OPS (.862), hits (203), home runs (10) and RBI (69) while striking out a career-low 5.5% of the time (34 strikeouts in 617 PA). He also hit for his first career cycle on April 11, 2023 at Philadelphia.
Since making his major league debut in 2019, Arráez leads all Major League players with a .324 average (688-for-2124) and has a .377 OBP, .801 OPS, 115 doubles, 12 triples, 24 home runs, 206 RBI, 180 walks and 309 runs scored in 569 career games. He has hit over .300 in four of his five previous major league seasons and became the first player in MLB history to win a batting title in both leagues in consecutive seasons (2022-23). The two-time Silver Slugger Award winner (AL in 2022, NL in 2023) was originally signed as an international free agent out of San Felipe, Venezuela, by the Minnesota Twins in November 2013 before being traded to the Marlins in January 2023. Arráez also represented Venezuela in the 2023 World Baseball Classic and homered twice in the quarterfinal game against Team USA.