Luis Arráez is on the move again.
The San Francisco Giants have traded Arráez to the Philadelphia Phillies along with pitcher Caleb Kilian in exchange for pitchers Ramon Marquez and Marty Gair.
At the time of the trade, Arráez, 29, was leading the NL in batting with a .324 average. From 2022 through 2024, Arráez won three consecutive batting titles with three different teams. In 2022, he won the AL batting title with the Minnesota Twins hitting .316. In the off-season, the Twins traded Arráez to the Miami Marlins in exchange for pitcher Pablo Lopez. Arráez won the NL batting title in 2023 with a career best .354 average. Early in the 2024 season, the Marlins sent Arráez to the San Diego Padres in a deal which included Jakob Marsee. He won yet another NL batting title posting a .314 batting average.
Last year, Arráez spent a full season in San Diego though he slipped to a .292 batting average despite collecting an NL leading 181 hits. In the off-season, Arráez signed a 1-year deal with the San Francisco Giants for $12 million. At the time, I wrote:
What is fascinating to me is that Arraez is so well-travelled. You would think three batting titles would make one a fixture in someone's lineup a la Ty Cobb, Stan Musial, Rod Carew, Wade Boggs or Tony Gwynn. Alas, Arraez is viewed as a liability for not having sufficient power, drawing few walks and subpar defensive skills despite his three batting titles and rarely striking out. Evidently, MLB frowns upon contact hitters.
So even if Arraez wins his fourth batting title with the Giants, he will likely be on the move albeit with a lucrative free agent contract although that could be jeopardized by a lockout of the 2027 season when the present MLB collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of this year.
Have perennial batting champion will travel.
Well, Arráez did not last a full season in SF. Yet it should be said that Arráez has been one of the few bright spots on a team which, along with the New York Mets, is the most disappointing in all of MLB. Aside from pitcher Logan Webb, Arráez was the only other Giant named to the NL All-Star Team.
One can only hope Arráez can find a home in Philly, his fifth team in five seasons. I'm sure Arráez will get along famously with manager Don Mattingly, who was once among baseball's purest hitters batting better than .300 seven times including an AL batting title with the New York Yankees in 1984.
If nothing else, Arráez can give the Phillies a shot in the arm. Although the Phillies have the second NL Wild Card berth and have won three games in a row, they were only 9-15 in July finishing the month losing 8 of 9 games.
The arrival of Arráez enables the Phillies to move Bryce Harper from first base back into the outfield.
Should Arráez win his fourth batting title in five seasons, it will be the second time in his career he will have won the NL batting title splitting his season with two teams. Prior to Arráez, the only other player to win a league batting title while splitting his season with two teams was Dale Alexander who hit .367 in 1932 with the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox. In 1990, Willie McGee won his second career NL batting title hitting .335 with the St. Louis Cardinals despite being traded to the Oakland A's prior to the trade deadline with just over a month left in the season to help the A's win their third consecutive AL pennant.
Luis Arráez is among baseball's best hitters. I just hope Arráez is finally treated like one.
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