Luis

Arraez

Luis Arraez: Extra-base hit machine. The homer is the second for the contact-geared hitter, and the double is the third. He also singled, and a batting average that was down to .129 over a week ago is now up to .282.

Arraez had the Padres’ only hit in the ninth-inning rally that produced the go-ahead run. He has six hits the last two days to raise his average from .129 to .256. It’ll only keep going up from here.

After going hitless over his first four contests, Arraez has hit safely in four of his last five, including a pair of multi-hit efforts. The 27-year-old second baseman is yet to strike out on the season. So it’s only a matter of time before he produces more games like this.

Arraez has gotten back on track in recent days after starting the season 0-for-16. The 27-year-old three-time batting champion crushed his first home run of the season off Guardians reliever Tim Herrin in the seventh inning just a couple frames after picking up his first theft of the year.

Arraez had just one three-game hitless streak in 2024, that coming against the Dodgers at the very end of the year. The Padres are expecting some extra production from him this year now that thumb has been fixed up, and he had a fine spring in hitting .349/.378/.512. One bad series surely doesn’t mean much.

Arraez apparently took yesterday’s blub personally where I chastised him for predictably having zero home runs and zero stolen bases in Cactus League play. He led off the game with a single, advanced to second as Fernando Tatis Jr. was plunked, swiped third and scored on an RBI single by Jackson Merrill. He then crushed a two-out solo shot off of Kumar Rocker in the second inning. He’s now hitting a sublime .433 (13-for-30) with a homer, six RBI and one stolen base on the spring.

Arraez crushed a two-out, two-run triple off of Daniel Lynch IV in the second inning that extended the Padres’ early advantage to 3-0. He also singled and grounded out to second base in the ballgame. He has performed about as you would expect this spring, hitting .370 (10-for-27) with five RBI, though he predictably has zero home runs and zero stolen bases.

It seems like the Padres are giving Iglesias a real shot to open the season as their primary second baseman. Luis Arraez’s lackluster defense and Jake Cronenworth’s versatility make it likely the 35-year-old journeyman will play a prominent role, if he makes San Diego’s season-opening roster. He won’t provide any fantasy value at this stage of his career, but it’s a developing situation worth noting, especially as it relates to Arraez, who might open the year at DH.

Arraez reached base on an error in his first at-bat but wound up stranded at first base. He then tied the game with a sharp RBI single into center off of Luis F. Castillo in the third inning. Unfortunately for the Padres, that would be their only tally in the contest. Arraez is off to a solid start this spring, hitting .375 (3-for-8) with a pair of RBI. You can expect him to continue to hit for a strong average in the regular season, but his contributions in the power and speed departments will remain limited.

The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports Gurriel will make $1.25 million if he’s in the majors. The 40-year-old veteran first baseman got into 18 contests last year for Kansas City and figures to have a decent shot at making San Diego’s season-opening lineup in a backup role behind Luis Arraez and Jake Cronenworth. He’ll compete in spring training with some combination of Jason Heyward, Connor Joe, Tirso Ornelas and Eguy Rosario for regular DH at-bats. There’s very little fantasy impact here, but his presence gives the Padres some insurance in case Ornelas isn’t ready for the big-league spotlight.