Why Teams Don’t Want to Keep Luis Arráez Despite His Batting Titles

[Cody Christie]

Rumors are swirling that Luis Arráez may be on the trading block again. He’s won three straight batting titles, but organizations seem ready to move on from him. Why doesn’t anyone want Arráez?

Image courtesy of Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

Twins fans fell in love with Luis Arráez from the moment he stepped on the field. His offensive approach was reminiscent of Twins Hall of Famer Rod Carew, and his on-field energy was infectious. After all, how many players can boast three consecutive batting titles by age 27? Yet, as Arráez prepares for what might be his fourth uniform in as many seasons, his story is one of a changing baseball landscape and shifting organizational priorities.  

Arráez’s baseball journey has taken him from being a fan favorite in Minnesota to the Miami Marlins to his current stint with the San Diego Padres. It also reveals why his skill set, while impressive, is not enough to make teams commit long-term.

The Twins: Pitching Over Contact  
Arráez became a fan favorite in Minnesota thanks to his exceptional bat-to-ball skills, winning his first batting title in 2022. In 144 games, he hit .316/.375/.420 (.795) with a 128 OPS+ and 4.2 rWAR. Yet, that same offseason, the Twins made the surprising decision to trade him to the Miami Marlins for Pablo López.  

For Minnesota, the origin of the trade was simple because they needed starting pitching, and López fit the bill. While Arráez provided elite contact hitting, his lack of power, speed, and defensive versatility limited his overall impact. He had moved down the defensive spectrum to the point where the Twins viewed him as a first baseman or designated hitter. The Twins’ front office recognized that the value of a high-average singles hitter was declining in an era driven by slugging percentages and defensive flexibility. In hindsight, the Twins’ move might have been ahead of its time.  

The Marlins: A Front-Office Rebuild  
Arráez’s lone season in Miami was nothing short of spectacular. He captured his second batting title, becoming the first Marlin to achieve the feat. In 147 games, he posted a career-high 4.9 WAR while hitting .354/.393/.469 (.861) with a 128 OPS+. He finished eighth in the NL MVP voting, was an All-Star, and won a Silver Slugger. However, Miami’s front office underwent significant changes last offseason, with general manager Kim Ng departing and the team pivoting toward a rebuild.  

In this new direction, Arráez became a luxury rather than a necessity. His arbitration salary of over $10 million was steep for a team looking to shed payroll and accumulate younger, controllable assets. Miami decided to move on, flipping Arráez to the San Diego Padres last winter as part of a cost-cutting effort. Miami acquired four prospects for Arráez, including Dillon Head, Woo-Suk Go, Jakob Marsee, and Nathan Martorella. It showed how much his value had dropped in one season.

The Padres: Cost-Cutting Constraints  
San Diego’s acquisition of Arráez initially seemed like a natural fit. His contact-oriented approach complemented a star-studded but strikeout-prone lineup. In 150 games, he hit .314/.346/.392 (.739) while leading the NL with 200 hits. However, his overall value dropped significantly, with a 106 OPS+ and a 1.1 WAR. Arráez won his third consecutive batting title, but his value has come into question as the Padres face mounting financial pressures.  

For the second straight offseason, San Diego is looking to slash payroll, and Arráez’s escalating arbitration figure (over $14 million) makes him a prime trade candidate. According to FanGraphs, his projected 2024 value ($8.8 million) is significantly lower than his salary, particularly after thumb surgery this October introduced uncertainty about his future production.  

The Decline of the Singles Hitter
Arráez’s situation highlights a broader trend in baseball with the devaluation of singles hitters. The modern game prizes power, speed, and defensive versatility, and players like Arráez, who excel in one narrow facet of the game, are becoming harder to build around.  

Arráez’s elite contact skills have undeniable value but don’t outweigh his defensive limitations or lack of power. His Hard Hit%, Barrel%, and BB% rank in the third percentile or lower. Also, advanced metrics like Wins Above Replacement (WAR) reflect how his bat alone can’t carry his profile, especially with his defensive limitations (-13 OAA in 2024). 

Did the Twins See the Future?  
In retrospect, the Twins may have been proactive in trading Arráez when they did. While López blossomed into an ace, Arráez’s limitations are becoming more apparent. He was an MVP candidate during his peak, but the gap between his arbitration cost and actual on-field value is widening.  

Arráez remains a unique talent in today’s game, and fans love his ability to do what few others can (hit for average at an elite level). But his career path underscores how baseball has evolved and how even batting champions must adjust to the sport’s shifting priorities. For teams like the Padres, Marlins, and Twins, the question remains: Is Luis Arráez worth the price? So far, the answer seems to be no. 

Will Arráez be traded again this winter? Do teams value elite contact hitters with little power? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

 

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[mikelink45]

I would still take him.  Yes he could be traded again, but to be traded you have to have value.   We consider Lopez to be our Ace.  Miami is trying to build up its system and three of the prospects are in their top 30 - #7, 19, 30.  Only Go is not on the list. 

I agree that he is getting too expensive - but that is the system, not the player.  They are all overpaid. 

[Jocko87]

Quote

The true one tool player is both rare and tough to fit on a roster.  The hit tool is really the only single tool that you can get to the bigs with and it's quite limiting when you get there.  He is an incredibly interesting player that is one tool short of being a superstar.  Love him as a player also but his arbitration and contracts are going to be very interesting.

Speedy Arraez would be a 6 WAR player, every year.  He could play functional left field, hit .380 and pile up value on the bases.  More slug with more hustle doubles and triples. Like a budget Ichiro, minus the arm.  That's just one additional tool that he doesn't have.

Powerful Arraez fits in any lineup and has plenty of suitors with the universal DH. A 30 HR version of Arraez with the other hit tools intact is a $150-200m player.  Budget Soto? Another additional tool he doesn't have.

Middle infield Arraez (say, OAA break even at shortstop) is a darn fine player that also fits every roster.  Would be playable at 4 spots and not a total liability with no speed. Also a tool he doesn't have.

As he is, he's not a fit for a small market team as a high priced player.  The Twins and Marlins just can't pay that much for no power, no defense, high average player.  They can justify spending on a Correa because he does everything.

Quoting myself from a few months ago.  He’s a unicorn but not in the best way. The Padres are a decent fit as all their stars play defense but still limited as a DH. 

[chpettit19]

8 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

Quoting myself from a few months ago.  He’s a unicorn but not in the best way. The Padres are a decent fit as all their stars play defense but still limited as a DH. 

Well said.

He's a supremely talented hitter. And there's value in that. But it's tough to fit on a roster when there's so many other parts to the game that he just doesn't bring anything to. I love watching Arraez hit. I love watching his joy for the game. I follow him on social and he seems like a great father, husband, and human. I enjoy watching him train. He's just such a unique player that it's hard to find the right fit for him.

When you can only do 1 thing on the field it's always limiting. Even if you're the best in the league at that 1 thing. He's lucky his 1 thing is hitting. If it were running fast he wouldn't have a career at all. His free agency will be very interesting. He'll be 29 so it'll be interesting to see how teams think he'll age and how long of a deal he'll get.

[RpR]

22 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

Quoting myself from a few months ago.  He’s a unicorn but not in the best way. The Padres are a decent fit as all their stars play defense but still limited as a DH. 

Bingo!

At that- he is not a bad 2nd baseman, better than any thing the Twins have now.

 

[Unwinder]

Love him to death, and there's nothing wrong at all with being an elite specialist. Hope he finds a home where that fits, and he's not expected to be something else.

[bean5302]

Arraez had a torn thumb ligament last year.

He's been a wRC+ 130 hitter the two prior years when he didn't have a torn thumb, which is excellent. Arraez typically produces about 40 extra base hits a year with 30 of those being doubles. This is the same kind of trash people talked about Joe Mauer, the "slap singles hitter." Arraez loops a lot of soft line drives into the center of the shallow outfield. If those hits land in the gaps, it's a double. It's a technique he talked to Correa about.

In any case, Arraez's value is limited by the lack of home run power and his poor athleticism. Defensive metrics are mixed on his play over the past 3 years. If you like UZR, he's about average at 2B. If you like DRS, he's above average. If you like OAA, he's one of the worst fielders in MLB.

I'd expect him to be a solid 2.5 fWAR kind of player for at least the next few years, he's been a near 5 bWAR player at 2B.

[Parfigliano]

It's beyond any doubt that the way the game is played now teams place little value on guys who can hit and win batting titles.  Strikeout 190 times but hit 40 HRs and your gold.

Last year Arraez hit .314/.346/.393 with 200 hits but those hits were 32 DB, 3 TR and 4 HR.  That works out to a .739 OPS, 106 OPS+ and 1.0 WAR.  He did score 83 runs though.

The commercial today would be...FO people dig the long ball.

[Doctor Gast]

I'd love a lineup filled with Arraezs. Arraez doesn't have the range to play 2B, not the height or power to play 1B or the superpower to DH. With the Twins, the defense wasn't important to them & the other teams also loved him & SD could afford to put him at DH because they had the power & defense so Arraez didn't have to be. But the defining reason is that Scott Boras is his agent & they can't afford what his asking price to extend him, pure & simple.

[Fatbat]

Its a shame that we can’t afford him.

[h2oface]

" Miami acquired four prospects for Arráez: Dillon Head, Woo-Suk Go, Jakob Marsee, and Nathan Martorella. It showed how much his value had dropped in one season."

4 prospects. Isn't that what we got for Johan Santana from the Mets? I guess you are right then. Santana's value didn't drop, it was just not there, I guess.

[Mark G]

One of the hallmarks of MLB for decades now has been the arbitration system.  Arbitrators, accepted by both sides, hear arguments from the player and the team about how much a player should be paid the next season based on quantitative measures given by both sides.  Supposedly, these arbitrators are experienced and competent; at least we are led to believe that.  Seeing that he is going into his final year of arbitration, and the estimates are in the 14 mil range this year (according to this article), multiple arbitrators have determined that, by MLB's own criteria, Arraez is worth what he is making.  As salaries go in MLB today, I concur.  And I truly believe that any team that wouldn't want an Arraez at the top of their batting order game in and game out needs a new FO.  Now, having said that, not every team can afford him; heck, most of them probably can't.  But the ones who can will very likely take him until he can't walk onto the field anymore.

We pay a catcher 10 mil a year, despite the fact he can barely find the ball with his bat, because he can steal a strike or two occasionally from a lousy umpire.  Compare that to the 10.6 mil Arraez made the same year; is the occasional strike worth as much as 200 hits?  When it is, I will return to the mother ship and find a planet that makes more sense.  As it is, at my age, I won't be here when his name comes up for HOF consideration, so I won't have to witness turning down a multiple time batting champion who hit over .300 most of his career because the hits were "only singles".  When Jim Kaat has to wait for the vets committee to vote him in despite 283 wins, a 3.45 lifetime ERA, 16 gold gloves, and even a lifetime .185 batting average for a pitcher; how does a singles hitter, in an era in love with juiced balls and home runs, stand any more of a chance.  As I have said many times before, the game hasn't changed, only the people who run it have.  And they need to go back to school.  

[theBOMisthebomb]

It seems Arraez moving around so much is mostly due to circumstances and budgets, not Luis being unwanted. 

WAR seems to undervalue Arraez for whatever reason. If the Padres move him, I'll enjoy watching him possibly win his 4th straight batting title in 2025 with a 4th different team. 

[Otaknam]

Arraez would be fine if his defense was solid and he had some defensive flexibility. Glad the Twins traded him when they did. Lopez has been pretty good, though he is not a number one starter. 

[JD-TWINS]

So, if the Team decides to stick with the arms they have (maybe trade 2-4 but don’t acquire any) and they stick with Larnach - Martin - Buxton - Kiersey - Wallner ………..they could make some trades/moves that could end desperation at 2B & upgrade offense……..Luis could be part of that scheme.

Trade Castro - Paddack - Matthews - Jeffers to San Diego for the young Catcher & Arraez.

This would give San Diego a solid 2nd Catching option with a decent bat OR a trade piece to someone else, acquiring Jeffers. Twins acquire Maille of Reds as a FA for $2.5M (or like). Also, SD picks up a present arm option and a probable  future arm option. They get Castro to help fill behind losing Kim and Profar, etc.

Twins develop young catcher & they add Arraez as a guy that can play 2B if nobody else can hit - maybe a bridge to Keaschall or Lee? Also, he can play 1B daily if Miranda needs a break or is injured. DH maybe 30-40% of the time.

Twins free up $18.5M in trade and then spend $14.5 & $2.5 to fill the Catcher spot and pay Luis. Seems Arraez won’t make much more than the arbitration number of $14.5M, ever ……..is he worth 145 games of consistent performance at the plate with right side defense and little L/R weakness v. opposing pitchers.

Probably better off keeping Jeffers and moving Vazquez, maybe elsewhere, even if they have to pay $3-$5M of his salary.

Basic line-up:

Arraez - Lewis - Larnach - Correa - Wallner - Buxton - Miranda - Lee - Catcher

I’d prefer they trade for a young 1B that can hit OR similar profile Catcher & stay away from FA but not sure this is realistic?

[Fatbat]

Do the Padres need a backup catcher that cant hit?  We need Arraez back to get on base 200 times. Send them Julien also. Maybe throw in Martin so we clear all the bad hitters off the team.

[Eris]

Agree with the general opinion that is is very difficult to find a home for a one dimensional player. I also feel that the Twins have too many players who are below average defensively to justify picking up Arraez. 
 

He did however, score 83 runs in down year for him. He would have been second on the Twins behind Castro’s 89 runs and about 40th in MLB. Does the metric of runs scored not have a lot of value.

[jmlease1]

Arraez is complicated. If his thumb is healed and he's able to show a little pop in his bat again, he'll give good value to a team as a hitter; he doesn't need to hit a pile of homers, but he also needs to be more than just singles. Because while all of the hits are great, he's not taking many walks to go along with them, so his OBP is reliant on him getting a massive amount of those singles.

If his achy knees allow him to play 2B effectively, then his value ticks up a lot more. A no-power, no-walk 1B/DH is pretty tough to sustain, especially at $10M. Carlos Santana was significantly more impactful at 1B for the Twins in 2024 at half the price.

You have to realistic about what you're going to get with Arraez: lots of singles, tons of contact. limited speed and defense. limited power. He's also a poor hitter against LHP, so really should get plenty of breaks there, if not a straight platoon. Add it up and you can see why he's moving around. His elite skills aren't the ones that are the most impactful over the course of a season. He will be more impactful in the playoffs, when playing for 1 run is more common and his ability to generate contact and hits is more valuable.

Twins made the right call in trading him. We'll see if Miami got the kind of prospects that made it worth dealing him in their latest fire sale. But in an era of budget cuts it's easy to see why SD might try and move on.

[Finlander]

His OPS was around .850 or so in 2023 (slugged .469). He was clearly affected by the bad thumb last year but still managed to win another batting title. I wouldn't dismiss him as a singles hitter. Now that his thumb is fixed, I look for him to at least split the difference between his last two seasons. That plays fine in many lineups. He can hold his own on the right side of the infield, and his contact magic can intimidate a pitcher as much as a 3-outcome brute.

He fits in San Diego, but I'd love to see him in Anaheim with guys like Trout and Soler behind him in the lineup.

[Fezig]

Low contact rate v. no contact rate. I'd rather watch 9 guys slap singles and doubles around the field than watch over a third of the outs being strikeouts. Having a guy on base consistently changes things for the pitcher. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure a guy from St. Paul (except one exceptional season), made the H.O.F by slapping singles and doubles to the opposite field. And yes, I know, defense also factored in.

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, Fezig said:

Low contact rate v. no contact rate. I'd rather watch 9 guys slap singles and doubles around the field than watch over a third of the outs being strikeouts. Having a guy on base consistently changes things for the pitcher. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure a guy from St. Paul (except one exceptional season), made the H.O.F by slapping singles and doubles to the opposite field. And yes, I know, defense also factored in.

Mauer also had BB% of 11.8. Arraez is at 6.9%. Joe was on base a lot more: OBP over .400 6 times before the concussion. Arraez has never done it. Mauer also had a SLG% of .439 so there were a LOT of doubles in there. 

No one is saying Arraez isn't a useful player, but his ceiling is limited if he can't play effective defense, doesn't draw walks on top of his singles, and isn't hitting enough doubles (and triples) to supplement his SLG, especially since he isn't adding speed as a factor to his game (which also limits the number of doubles and triples he can hit). As he gets more expensive, that's a challenge.

[TopGunn#22]

As much fun as it was to watch Arraez hit, I don't think there is a guy who comments on TD that regrets getting Pablo Lopez.  Jocko87 nailed it by quoting himself from some time ago.  If Arraez either had the speed or OF glove of Tony Gywnn he'd be a hot commodity.  If he had the power of David Ortiz same thing.  But he doesn't.  To me, his closest comp to some degree is Matty Alou.

All Alou could hit was singles.  He might get 25-30 doubles in a season but he had 31 CAREER HR's.  In 1968, "The Year of the Pitcher" Alou hit .332 with an OPS of .758.  In 558 AB's he walked just 27 times for an OBP of .362.  With teammates like Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Don Clendenon he only scored 59 runs and knocked in just 52.  He did steal 18 bases but was caught 10 times.  Among his 185 hits were 28 doubles, 4 triples and ZERO HR's.  

What set Alou apart from Arraez is that he was a pretty decent CF.  He had a sub par throwing arm, but that was mitigated with having the cannon arms of Clemente and Stargell on either side of him.  Alou could catch the ball and he could run, two things Arraez can't do as well.  But all Alou could hit was singles. It's why despite a .307 lifetime average, Matty Alou is not in the HOF.  

Alou didn't win batting titles.  That's tough to do when you're in the same league as Clemente, Rose, Aaron and Billy Williams (among a host of others).  But in the 60's and early 70's when pitching dominated, he was a pretty valuable guy.  The one similarity that I see with Arraez and Alou that is a deficiency,  is they both should have scored more runs.

Alou got 185 hits and had Clemente, Stargell and Clendenon hitting behind him in 1968 and he only scored 59 runs.  How is that possible?  The one thing that Arraez could do a little better to raise his value is score more runs.  83 runs scored is not bad, but 100 runs scored in a season is the gold standard. 

It just boggles the mind that you can have a player who wins 3 CONSECUTIVE batting titles and nobody wants to keep this guy on their team.  On the current Twins team, playing a below average 2B and maybe an average 1B Arraez would be a better option than anybody we have hitting leadoff of 2nd in the lineup.  Another comp with Arraez would be Rod Carew.  Carew was a better 2B and 1B than Arraez will ever be and Carew certainly had much more speed, from stealing bases to legging out doubles and triples.  If Arraez just had "some" of the speed Carew had his value would soar to a 20 SB and 100 runs scored guy.   

I'm a little intrigued by JDTwins idea of trading for Arraez and Padres catcher Luis Campusano.  I just cannot imagine the current Twins ownership or FO finding room for a $14 million dollar singles hitter.  That's a sad reality, but true.   

[bean5302]

On 12/7/2024 at 5:05 AM, Mark G said:

...When Jim Kaat has to wait for the vets committee to vote him in despite 283 wins, a 3.45 lifetime ERA, 16 gold gloves, and even a lifetime .185 batting average for a pitcher; how does a singles hitter, in an era in love with juiced balls and home runs, stand any more of a chance.  As I have said many times before, the game hasn't changed, only the people who run it have.  And they need to go back to school.  

Jim Kaat was HoF eligible in 1989-2003 (maxing at 29.6%), and the veterans committee 2005-2015 (maxing out at 62.5%) before being specially appointed by the Golden Days Era Committee. The people who were in evaluating Kaat were from 30 years ago, in a totally different era of baseball.

Kaat had an exceptionally long and distinguished 25 year career, but he was almost always the #2 or later guy on his team's rotation. The only year you could really say Jim Kaat was the ace starter in the Twins' rotation was 1966. Kaat was almost always behind Pascual, Grant, Chance, Perry or Blyleven. Of course, the resurgence of Kaat's career in 1974-1975 where he was suddenly the White Sox's ace happened, but it was 2 very short years in a huge career.

He never won an ERA title or a Cy Young. He made the All Star team only 3x in 25 years, and he was a top 10 pitcher in WAR only 3x in his 25 year career, never better than #5. Overall, Kaat's career 3.45 ERA converts to 8% better than league average. Even if we cherry pick Kaat's through his prime end in 1975, it's still only 13% better than league average. 

In my opinion, Jim Kaat is the very definition of an accumulator. A very long career of good, but rarely great, seasons getting him to 45 career WAR. It's also the reason I feel like 60 career WAR should be an automatic. No accumulator can possibly hit that accomplishment. Even 50 career WAR should be a near automatic.

Here's a stunner for you. Brad Radke, just about the single most overlooked Twins player in history, has more career WAR than Jim Kaat.

[Fezig]

21 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

Mauer also had BB% of 11.8. Arraez is at 6.9%. Joe was on base a lot more: OBP over .400 6 times before the concussion. Arraez has never done it. Mauer also had a SLG% of .439 so there were a LOT of doubles in there. 

No one is saying Arraez isn't a useful player, but his ceiling is limited if he can't play effective defense, doesn't draw walks on top of his singles, and isn't hitting enough doubles (and triples) to supplement his SLG, especially since he isn't adding speed as a factor to his game (which also limits the number of doubles and triples he can hit). As he gets more expensive, that's a challenge.

I'm disagreeing with any of that. The greater point is I'd rather have someone with a greater chance to get a base hit than a K. The team with the horrible M logo seem to prefer the slow walk back to the dugout. 

[jmlease1]

3 hours ago, Fezig said:

I'm disagreeing with any of that. The greater point is I'd rather have someone with a greater chance to get a base hit than a K. The team with the horrible M logo seem to prefer the slow walk back to the dugout. 

Sure? But you're wrong about the Twins: they just aren't afraid of Ks, because an out is an out. They'd prefer more hits, but they also know it's a lot easier to actually score runs when you don't have to string together 3 singles to get 1 run and 5+ hits in an inning to put up a crooked number.

If Arraez can play a consistent 2B and slug over .400, then teams would be clamoring for his services. If he took walks like he when he was a Twin in combination with those awesome batting averages (and can either slug over .400 consistently and/or play something other than DH) then his price tag is a lot more palatable. The lack of speed is a big limiter; how often is he going first to third on those creaky knees? Or scoring from second on a single to right? He's not stealing bases.  But if he's a slap-hitting DH whose on-base % is only around .350 what are you getting for $10M? A very empty BA that's fun to watch, but doesn't actually score you many runs.

 

[gman]

The guy had a hand injury last year and still won a batting title. His career OPS is. higher than Buxton. His career high for strikeouts is 50. He only had 200 hits while Castro led the Twins with 138, no one else on the Twins even had 100 hits. He hit 366 with runners in scoring position, with 39 rbi's in 112 at bats, with an 818 OPS. He only struck out twice. While both Buxton and Correa were decent with runners in scoring position, neither were as good as Arraez.

I think the offensive problems that people have with Arraez stem from the people hitting around him. I think too players hit only for themselves and not for the team.

[Mike Sixel]

The math is very clear, it's really hard to generate a lot of runs when you have zero power. It just is. Also, he can't play defense. It's not hard at all to understand why he's not valued by teams, given what they've learned about what wins games over the last two decades. 

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, gman said:

The guy had a hand injury last year and still won a batting title. His career OPS is. higher than Buxton. His career high for strikeouts is 50. He only had 200 hits while Castro led the Twins with 138, no one else on the Twins even had 100 hits. He hit 366 with runners in scoring position, with 39 rbi's in 112 at bats, with an 818 OPS. He only struck out twice. While both Buxton and Correa were decent with runners in scoring position, neither were as good as Arraez.

I think the offensive problems that people have with Arraez stem from the people hitting around him. I think too players hit only for themselves and not for the team.

And yet, Buxton and Correa were both substantially more impactful players last season, even playing fewer games. Teams will prefer Correa and Buxton, because they consistently add value beyond batting average.

Arraez also grounded into 18 double plays last season, more than double Buxton and Correa combined. Maybe Arraez started hitting for himself rather than the team, chasing that batting title?

Look, I like Arraez. seems like a good dude, and he's super fun to watch. But while the floor is high with him because of his outstanding contact skills, the ceiling is lower because of his lack of speed or defense, limits on his power, struggles vs LHP (career .681 OPS vs LHP), and increasing disinterest in taking walks to supplement his OBP.

If I were a playoff team, i'd want to find a role for him, because his contact skills play up more in close games...but it would be tough to find a full-time role for him if he has another season like last year, batting title or no.

 

[Fezig]

20 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

Sure? But you're wrong about the Twins: they just aren't afraid of Ks, because an out is an out. They'd prefer more hits, but they also know it's a lot easier to actually score runs when you don't have to string together 3 singles to get 1 run and 5+ hits in an inning to put up a crooked number.

If Arraez can play a consistent 2B and slug over .400, then teams would be clamoring for his services. If he took walks like he when he was a Twin in combination with those awesome batting averages (and can either slug over .400 consistently and/or play something other than DH) then his price tag is a lot more palatable. The lack of speed is a big limiter; how often is he going first to third on those creaky knees? Or scoring from second on a single to right? He's not stealing bases.  But if he's a slap-hitting DH whose on-base % is only around .350 what are you getting for $10M? A very empty BA that's fun to watch, but doesn't actually score you many runs.

 

He's averaged around 80 runs per year for the past three seasons. That's just under .5 run per each hit. It is difficult to put a few hits together but even more so when you have a team that tends to strike out over a third of the time. I don't have the stats to back it up, but I'd wager a pitchers BA against is higher with runners on base, even if he isn't speedy. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against the long ball, but you don't need to lead the league in K's to hit a bunch of HR's.