The San Francisco Giants signed Luis Arraez to a one-year, $12 million contract on Saturday. They filled their gaping hole at second base, as Arraez is set to join Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, and Matt Chapman in what seems a very balanced infield when it comes to hitting.
However, Arraez hasn’t been up to average MLB standards when it comes to defense. After spending the past one and a half seasons at first base with the San Diego Padres, he expressed his desire to switch back to the keystone, the position he played in the first five seasons of his MLB career in Miami.
The Padres decided to place him in the corner after he recorded a -26 Outs Above Average in 2023 and the first half of 2024. Even at first base, in 2025, he recorded a -9 Outs Above Average.
Speaking on the MLB Network, former Mets general manager and analyst Steve Phillips opined that Arraez seemed like a fallback option for San Francisco, as an alternative to the Chicago Cubs’ Nico Hoerner and St. Louis Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan. He added that they ought to be concerned with Arraez’s defensive aspects, especially when he gets paired alongside Rafael Devers and shortstop Willy Adames moves to the other side for left-handed pitching.
“Yeah, so I think that it feels a little bit like the Giants settled,” Phillips said. “They couldn’t get Nico Hoerner in a trade. They couldn’t work out a deal to get Brendan Donovan. They tried for CJ Abrams, and so they’re looking at it, saying, ‘Well, I mean, where else are we going to go? So let’s get Luis Arraez.'”
“Now, Arraez, we know, can hit for a very good average. He’s a contact hitter, doesn’t strike out a lot, but he’s not a great defender, and I know that one of the things they want to do is really have run prevention. So, for the left-handed pitchers, you think for a guy like Robbie Ray, where you’re going to face a lot of right-handed hitters. Okay, that works because you’ve got Willy Adames and Matt Chapman on the left side of your infield. With both Rafael Devers and Luis Arraez on the right side of the infield, I am a bit concerned about that infield defense for the Giants. Arraez’s range just isn’t there,” he added.
The Giants trust Arraez’s on-base abilities to complement a power-heavy lineup, with the other three infielders contributing 71 home runs in 2025. Arraez won three consecutive batting titles from 2022 to 2024. Last season, his average slightly dipped to .292, but he was still among the top five in the National League.
Harrison Bader Requests Fans to Look Beyond Luis Arraez’s Stats
Luis Arraez’s signing came five days after the San Francisco Giants inked a two-year deal with outfielder Harrison Bader. Speaking on KNBR 680’s “Murph & Markus” podcast on Monday, Bader came to Arraez’s defense.
“I think the people who make decisions in the front office understand the value of a player as talented as Luis Arráez,” Bader explained. “I think that there are always going to be conversations about expected stats and whatnot — and those are all well and good for Twitter conversations — but at the end of the day, what matters most is the lineup you put out there, advancing 90 feet at a time, getting as many hits as possible, getting on base, all these things.”
Arraez’s lack of hard-hitting ability led to his free agency stagnating. He ranked dead last among qualified hitters in 2025, with a 16.7% hard-hit rate. Despite low strikeout figures, the 28-year-old has hit only 36 home runs in his MLB career.
