With Friday’s 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Diego Padres improved to 13-7 since the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline. It may seem impractical to switch things up when a team wins baseball games consistently. But is there always room for improvement?

Padres skipper Mike Shildt has penciled Luis Arráez in the two spot of the starting nine in each of his starts this season despite production numbers down from his career marks.

Arráez posts a .289 batting average through 123 games, and the three-time batting champion’s offense is a percentage point below league average (99 OPS+), placing his ranks on the Padres closer to the middle and lower end of the pack. The question surfaces: Should the Padres move Arráez down in the order?

Shildt addressed the question on 97.3 The Fan, affirming his intention to keep Arráez in the two spot even as the numbers suggest the Padres might be leaving some production on the table.

San Diego ranks 25th in OBP, 26th in OPS, 27th in SLG, 28th in RBI and runs, and 30th in home runs across MLB in offensive output from the two spot in the lineup. On the Padres, Arráez sits at fourth in runs, fifth in RBI, seventh in BB, eighth in OBP, and 10th in OPS.

With new additions like Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Laureano, both of whom sport an OPS north of .900 in their short stints with the club, the Shildt reinforcements are producing at a higher level than Arráez.

While the team has been finding ways to win, the numbers point to a reality in which San Diego could be winning more with a retooled approach to the top of the order.

It’s important to remember that Arráez is a talented player and an integral part of the culture of this 2025 Padres team. Additionally, his Tony Gwynn-esque skillset remains extremely valuable. However, Arráez’s pitch selection and career-high chase rate in the bottom 12% of MLB ranks have been the main source of his struggles.

A move to the bottom third of the order could serve as a win-win: pitchers would be forced to attack the strike zone more frequently to avoid turning to the top of the lineup, giving Arráez more hittable pitches and a better chance to return to form. At the same time, it would allow hotter bats like O’Hearn and Laureano to slot closer to the top, maximizing the offensive potential.

Yes, the Padres are winning, but in a tight playoff race, with San Diego and Los Angeles currently deadlocked atop the NL West, even small adjustments can make a major difference. Sliding Arráez down in the order wouldn’t diminish his value; instead, it could spark both his bat and the lineup around him.

In a sport where every detail matters, that kind of marginal gain might be exactly what pushes the Padres over the top.

Max Schwartzberg

A San Diegan born and raised, Max Schwartzberg is a diehard Padres fan who created and hosts the YouTube channel Padres Previews, a hub where he passionately delivers Padres news, updates, reactions, and hype videos. At Northeastern, Max broadcasts and writes for baseball, basketball, and hockey. Max dreams of following in the steps of Padres broadcaster and Northeastern alumnus Don Orsillo to become a Major League Baseball announcer.