WBC helping Marlins’ Arraez feel at home in Miami: ‘I’m dreaming’
Luis Arraez isn’t just enjoying the winning ride he’s been on for more than a week with Team Venezuela.
Arraez, the 25-year-old new Miami Marlins second baseman, has also been getting comfortable in his new professional digs at loanDepot park.
“I’m dreaming. Right now, I’m dreaming,” Arraez said before starting again for Venezuela in its World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game on Saturday night against the United States. “I’ve been pinching myself. Am I here? Am I here? Yes. I’m enjoying this a lot.”
Arraez was traded by the Minnesota Twins to the Marlins on Jan. 20 for his Venezuela teammate
Pablo Lopez and prospects Jose Salas and
Byron Chourio.
Coming off winning the American League batting title in 2022, Arraez is one of the Marlins’ key offseason acquisitions they hope will result in more victories this season and contention for the postseason in the near future.
“I have represented Venezuela since I was a little boy. I have great memories,” Arraez said. “Most of the time, I was a champion when I played as a little child. I think that and I hope that we are going to achieve our goal in this tournament.”
Once Arraez is done trying to bring a WBC championship to his native country, he will return to Jupiter to finish preparing for his first season with the Marlins where he will join an infield that includes third baseman
Jean Segura, Joey Wendle and potentially recently acquired Jose Iglesias playing shortstop, and
Garrett Cooper and potentially newly acquired
Yuli Gurriel at first base.
While Marlins manager
Skip Schumaker has said he wants Arraez to get his reps at second base, his experience playing first base helped him get ample playing time on a talented Venezuela roster.
Arraez started at first once again on Saturday as he did in three of the previous four WBC games for Venezuela.
Arraez hadn’t had a great tournament statistically entering Saturday, batting 2 for 13 with a double and two walks.
Arraez couldn’t have felt more at home on Saturday with droves of his fellow Venezuelans making noise and filling the ballpark he will now call home starting March 30 when the Marlins open the regular season against the New York Mets.
He also headed into Saturday night’s game hoping to back up Venezuela starting pitcher Martin Perez, the veteran lefthander for the Texas Rangers who started against Team USA.
Arraez said Perez, his former teammate during his rookie season (2019) in Minnesota, was one of the people who most helped him when he was just a teenager trying to make it to the major leagues.
“When I made it to the Majors, [Perez] was a teammate and he asked me, ‘Do you have a place to live?’ ” Arraez said. “I told him, ‘No, I’m in the hotel.’ And he said, ‘Give me one week and you can come to my house.’
“Martín was always there for me. He supported me. Nelson the same. Nelson Cruz supported me. I admire him. But Martín, I’m playing with him here and I thank him for his support. I have to thank God that I’m playing on a team with him.”
THIS AND THAT
According to an ESPN report, former Marlins pitcher and 1997 World Series champion Livan Hernandez will throw the ceremonial first pitch on Sunday when Cuba plays in the WBC semifinals.
Hernandez, 48, pitched 17 seasons in the majors, but is remembered for his performances as a rookie during that championship season including two wins in the World Series
ASox (2014), Detroit Tigers (2015) and New York Mets (2015-18, 2020) and had a career .273 batting average with 165 home runs, 528 RBI and 475 runs scored in 834 games.
The Cuban Baseball Federation, in a statement from Havana, did not provide many details about his departure from the team but said he might rejoin the team if Cuba reaches the semifinals in Miami.
Other notable players with big-league experience are the Chicago White Sox’s Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert Jr. as well as Detroit Tigers infielder Andy Ibanez.
Moncada has been one