Giants agree to one-year deal with three-time batting champ Luis Arraez

Justice delos Santos, The Mercury News on Jan 31, 2026

Published in Baseball

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SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants provided a jolt to their offense Saturday night by adding three-time batting champion Luis Arraez on a reported one-year, $12 million contract.

Acquiring a second baseman does not come as a surprise as the Giants had been linked to the St. Louis Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan and the Chicago Cubs’ Nico Hoerner.

With Arraez, they’ve found their man.

Arraez, 28, will likely slot in as the starting second baseman, which would turn infielder Casey Schmitt into a super utility player. Schmitt has experience playing all four infield positions and could serve as a late-game defensive replacement for Arraez.

When speaking with reporters on Friday, president of baseball operations Buster Posey hinted at the possibility the team was not done adding. Fresh off signing outfielder Harrison Bader, San Francisco has added one of the most consistent bats in baseball.

The three-time batting champion’s value will derive almost solely from his bat. Arraez does not provide much power, but his .317 career batting average is the highest among active players and he’s eclipsed the 200-hit mark on two occasions. Over seven seasons, Arraez has a .777 OPS (115 OPS+) with 36 homers and 308 RBIs.

Arraez is also incredibly difficult to strike out. The left-handed hitter struck out just 3.1% of the time last year, the lowest mark in the majors, and has a minuscule career strikeout rate of 6.1%.

The flip side of that coin is that Arraez doesn’t walk much either and has a career 6.5% walk rate. Arraez is a hitter by the truest definition, and the majority of his plate appearances will end with him making contact.

With Arraez in the mix, the Giants boast one of baseball’s best offensive infields. Arraez and first baseman Rafael Devers will hold down the right side, while third baseman Matt Chapman and shortstop Willy Adames will man the left side. There’s also top prospect Bryce Eldridge, though it is uncertain whether he will be on the Opening Day roster.

Since San Francisco’s lineup features several power bats, Arraez’s contact-first archetype will give the Giants’ lineup more depth. But despite Arraez’s reputation as one of baseball’s best pure hitters, he’s coming off the worst season of his career.

In 2025, Arraez had a .292 batting average with a .719 OPS, both of which were career lows in full seasons. With a 99 OPS+, Arraez was essentially a league average hitter.

The underlying metrics are not kind to Arraez either. Baseball Savant tabbed Arraez as having a Batting Run Value of -9, placing him in the 15th percentile. Arraez also posted career lows in expected slugging percentage and hard-hit percentage.

Defensively, Arraez has played 359 major league games at second base, the most of any position, but he’s primarily been a first baseman over the last two seasons and hasn’t been a full-time second baseman since 2023. Over nearly 2800 innings at second base, Arraez has been worth -6 defensive runs saved and -35 outs above average.