Padres acquire batting champ Luis Arraez from Marlins
The San Diego Padres acquired two-time batting champion Luis Arraez and cash considerations from the Miami Marlins on Saturday morning in a deal that included four prospects.
Later in the day, Arraez made history, becoming the first Padres player to record four hits in his team debut. He led off the game with a double and finished with four hits, two runs and an RBI in San Diego's 13-1 romp past the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Padres sent righthanded reliever Woo-Suk Go, outfield prospects Dillon Head and Jakob Marsee and first baseman/outfielder prospect Nathan Martorella to the Marlins.
Head is rated as the Padres' No. 6 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline. Marsee is No. 9 and Martorella is No. 13.
According to multiple reports, the Padres will receive nearly $8 million to cover all but the major league minimum of Arraez's 2024 salary. Arraez is playing on a one-year, $10.6 million deal, awarded in arbritration.
Arraez batted .316 for the Minnesota Twins while winning the American League batting title in 2022. Last season, he hit a career-high .354 with the Marlins to win the National League
batting crown.
“It's really amazing — that guy is a baller,” Fernando Tatis Jr. said about Arraez following the Padres' 7-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. “He's probably the closest to Tony Gwynn right now, so looking forward to seeing him in our lineup. ... The guy's a pure hitter, and I can't wait for him to help us.”
Arraez was scratched from the Marlins' starting lineup shortly before Friday night's game at the Oakland Athletics. During the top of the second inning,
the television broadcast showed Arraez exchanging hugs with teammates.
With his four hits against the Diamondbacks Saturday, Arraez is batting .315 with six RBIs. He owns a seven-game hitting streak.
Arraez, 27, has started 33 games at second base this season and also can play first base and the outfield.
San Diego moved veteran shortstop Xander Bogaerts to second base during spring training.
Arraez, a two-time AllStar, owns a .324 career average with 24 homers and 206 RBIs in 569 games
with the Twins (2019-22) and Marlins (2023-24).
Go, 25, has a 4.38 ERA in 12 1/3 innings at Double-A San Antonio. He pitched in South Korea the past seven seasons.
Head, 19, was a first-round pick (25th overall) in the 2023 draft. He is batting .237 with one homer and nine RBIs in 21 games at Class A Lake Elsinore.
Marsee, 22, is batting .185 with two homers, five RBIs and 12 steals for San Antonio.
Martorella, 23, is batting .294 with two homers and 14 RBIs in 23 games at San Antonio.