The San Diego Padres are coming off the most disappointing season in the franchise’s history.

They traded superstar Juan Soto and will have a lot of new arms in the rotation. However, the Padres still look to be a contending team in 2024 due to a star-studded roster.

With Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and Xander Bogaerts tied down, the Padres will be looking for a few bounce-back years from their stars, as well as a few other players. Jake Cronenworth certainly has a lot more to offer than he has shown in recent seasons. Ha-Seong Kim became a fan favorite after a stellar season for himself. However, the Padres still need to make moves to contend.

Enter Luis Arraez, who won his respective league’s batting title in the last two seasons. Arraez could be moved by the Miami Marlins before the season. Jon Heyman reported the Marlins are “willing to listen to almost everyone” in trade talks, and the Padres could very much be interested.

Luis Arraez would add an elite bat to the Padres’ lineup.

As one of the best contact hitters in the league, Arraez has phenomenal bat-to-ball skills and can hit at a high clip. Last season, he had a career-high in hits (203), batting average (.354), and OPS (.861), as well as many other categories, as he finished eighth in MVP voting and earned his second straight All-Star appearance.

Not known for his glove, Arraez still shows he can be put in multiple positions. Having played almost 60% of his career at second base, he also totaled almost an entire season in games played at first and third base. With a versatile infield that includes Kim and Cronenworth, Arraez could be placed anywhere as well, but having him at first could allow Kim and Cronenworth to show off their glovework more.

Arraez has two years left of control before becoming a free agent.

If the Padres were to make a deal for the 26-year-old, he would not come very cheap. San Diego may be able to avoid sending a top-five prospect, but they would likely have to send 2-3 prospects in the 7-15 range. A proposal of three of the four of RHPs Jairo Iriarte (No. 7) and Adam Mazur (No. 8), 1B Nathan Martorella (No. 11), and OF Jakob Marsee (No. 13) could get the job done.

Adding Arraez to the heart of the Padres’ lineup would do wonders for the offense. A left-handed bat with elite contact is something the team needs, and Arraez would be a great pickup for A.J. Preller.

Bobby Murphy

Bobby is an Arizona State University alum and majored in Sports Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Fall 2023. Bobby is from San Diego, loves to write, and has a deep passion for baseball, football and basketball. He has co-hosted the “Devils Talking Padres” podcast and was a digital reporter and photographer for Cronkite News/Arizona PBS. He also broadcasted high school and junior college football games in Arizona as a play-by-play and color commentator.