When the New York Mets signed Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765 million contract with incentives included, the Yankees were demoralized. Not only had they lost one of the best players in baseball, but he signed with their crosstown rivals. Understandably, replacing Soto is no easy task, but Brian Cashman has done his best to use some of the capital New York would’ve spent on the Dominican star elsewhere.
Since losing Soto, the Yankees have acquired Max Fried, Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, Devin Williams and more. New York remains active in trade talks for other stars who could be assets to a rapidly-growing lineup. Per FanSided’s Robert Murray, this includes Padres infielder Luis Arraez.
Arraez is reportedly just one of a litany of bats the Yankees are in on. ESPN’s Jeff Passan backed up this thought, adding Gavin Lux to the equation as well.
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If there’s one thing Luis Arraez does really well, it’s put the ball in play. Arraez doesn’t have the greatest exit velocity or advanced statistics when it comes to the balls he does put in play, but they frequently result in hits.
Soto has a statistical head-to-head edge over Arraez in just about every meaningful category but one, and that is batting average. Yes, it’s a basic statistic that doesn’t necessarily tell the entire story. Soto gets on base more than Arraez, so it essentially cancels out, if not favors the former. Yet, Arraez ability to place the baseball wherever he wants with more consistency than Soto is something the Yankees can use to their advantage.
Arraez has won three batting titles. He is no slouch, and is on an expiring contract. Arraez is slated to make over $13 million this season, and is primarily listed as a second baseman. Acquiring him could put Oswaldo Cabrera out of a job for now, or relegate him to the bench, which would be a positive development for the Yankees.
New York’s lineup would also look much more complete with Arraez in it, as he would push the likes of Paul Goldschmidt and Giancarlo Stanton down a peg.
