The San Francisco Giants have acquired Luis Arraez (29), who boasts the best contact ability in Major League Baseball.
MLB.com, the official MLB outlet, reported on the 1st (Korean time), "The Giants explored various options all offseason to strengthen second base. And they finally got the player they wanted. They signed three-time batting champion Luis Arraez to a one-year, $12 million (about 17.4 billion won) contract."
Arraez is an infielder who has appeared in 840 major league games with a career batting average of .317 (3,244 at-bats, 1,028 hits), 36 home runs, 308 RBIs, 436 runs scored, 31 stolen bases and a .777 OPS. He does not have great power, but his precise hitting ability is his biggest strength. He won the batting title three consecutive years in 2022 (.316), 2023 (.354) and 2024 (.314). Last season he also posted solid numbers in 154 games: .292 batting average (620 at-bats, 181 hits), 8 home runs, 61 RBIs, 66 runs scored, 11 stolen bases and a .719 OPS.
After the season ended Arraez became a free agent but did not attract interest from many teams. He lacks the power that major league teams value, and he does not draw many walks, so his on-base percentage (career .363) is not dramatically higher than his high batting average.
But Arraez was an attractive option for San Francisco, which was targeting second base help. MLB.com explained, "San Francisco initially considered acquiring Brendan Donovan (St. Louis), Nico Hoerner (Cubs), C.J. Abrams (Washington) and others via trade, but ultimately shifted toward Arraez. Arraez is famous for elite contact ability, and over seven seasons with the Twins, Marlins and Padres he has a career batting average of .317, ranking first among active players."
Arraez, who was traded from Miami to San Diego in 2024, played alongside Kim Ha-seong (Atlanta) when he was with San Diego. This time, moving to San Francisco, he will share a clubhouse with Lee Jung-hoo. Lee Jung-hoo and Arraez have similar hitting profiles. Both batters rarely strike out and excel at making contact.
MLB.com noted, "Left-handed Arraez recorded the lowest strikeout rate in the major leagues last year among qualifiers, at 3.1%" but added, "However, his OPS+ was only 99, a career low. That is slightly below league average. Arraez hits the ball to all fields but is not the type to frequently produce hard contact. Last year, among qualifiers he ranked last with a 16.7% hard-hit rate (batted-ball speed of 95 mph or more), and his average batted-ball speed was not particularly notable."
Defense is not a strength either. Arraez played often at first base in San Diego, but San Francisco plans to use him at second base. It will be his first time playing full-time at second base since 2023. MLB.com predicted, "San Francisco could consider frequently using Casey Schmitt and Christian Koss at second base to compensate for Arraez's defensive weaknesses."
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