Por Andy McCullough, Rustin Dodd y S. Trent Rosecrans
San Diego Padres get: Luis Arráez, 2B/1B
Miami Marlins get: Dillon Frío, OF; Woo Suk-Go, L.D.; Jacob Marcy, OF; Nathan Martorella, 1B/OF
Andy McCullough: Arráez doesn’t make much sense in real life. He has filled the spot between second base and first base the past two seasons, a pair of positions held by Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth in San Diego. His ability to play short offers little value; Almost every infielder on the Padres roster can play shortstop. But when Manny Machado was allowed to return to third base, the team gave the designated hitter to other hitters such as Graham Pauley and Egie Rosario. Arraes, the batting champion in each of the last two seasons, offers an upgrade at that position and gives manager Mike Schildt some options at other positions on the field when starters need to rest.
Arráez, 27, provides almost all of his value through his bat, and especially through his shotmaking ability. He doesn’t give much power. He doesn’t walk much. He is neither an elite defender nor an elite running back. What he does is keep in touch. He has ranked in the top 100 in batting average in each of the last three seasons, according to Baseball Savant. Even before his .354 season in 2023, he was hitting .314 for his career. His approach adds variety to any composition. But if his luck worsens, his value will decrease.
The trade makes the most sense for Miami. The club is not going anywhere. General manager Peter Bendix is trying to rebuild on the fly. In exchange for Arráez’s two seasons, the Marlins acquired three of San Diego’s top 13 prospects. AtléticoKeith Lowe, including Sar, the last team in the first round. Head could develop into a Gold Glove center fielder, but he’s only 19 years old and is struggling a bit to get to Lake Elsinore right now. Marcy, a 2022 sixth-round pick out of Central Michigan, can also solve defenses in center field while facing questions about his bat. He entered Friday hitting .185 in the Texas League. Martorella is a first baseman with good contact skills but not much power. Despite signing a two-year, $4.5 million contract with San Diego this winter, Go has yet to make his major league debut. He was optioned to Double-A San Antonio to begin his American career.
These are the kind of moves Bendix needs to make to revive its franchise. If Head hits his ceiling, if Martorella hits for power and if Marcy just hits, the deal could be a coup for Bendix and the Marlins. All of these results are far from guaranteed. Arráez is not guaranteed to hit .315 in 2024, but he is likely to hit singles and doubles at the same rate that has made him a player with nearly two to four WAR over the last three seasons.
Parenting class: B+
Marlins Class: B-
Rustam Dodd: Give points to AJ Preller for his creativity. Just when you think he can’t make any more unusual, headline-generating trades, he goes and does something like this. And free yourself completely?
Hey. We will see.
The Padres now control Arráez for the remainder of this season and 2025. He will likely spend a lot of time as a designated hitter, although the Padres have other versatile pieces in the outfield and manager Mike Schildt has other options. You almost never see teams move like this in May, and on some level, the aggression is admirable. Of course, the same could be said for most of Preller’s moves.
The real question: How much does this really improve the Padres’ chances of making the playoffs? And is it really worth the return?
Dillon Head, a 19-year-old outfielder with elite speed, projects to be the Marlins’ starter. He was a first-round pick last year and received a $2.8 million college signing bonus. His combination of speed and defense gives him a high floor with high ceiling potential. The Marlins also acquired outfielder Jacob Marcy and first baseman/outfielder Nathan Martorella, two players ranked among the Padres’ top 15 prospects.
The Marlins are making the best of a bad situation and rebuilding their system. The results may vary greatly, but the decision makes sense.
Parenting class: B
Marlins Class: B+
C.Trent Rosecrans: Gemini wins business! That’s how it’s done, right?
Oh wait…
But seriously, folks, the Marlins got 180 innings for Pablo López (and Byron Churio and José Salas). It doesn’t seem like much.
As for this trade, the Padres got a shortstop, which is new for them, to say the least.
It’s a strange thing for the Padres, who have a lot of players, but Arráez is a left-handed hitter who can put the ball on the ball, and that’s always important. He’s limited defensively to right field and designated hitter, and he doesn’t hit for much power, but that’s okay because the Padres have them all over the lineup.
For the Marlins, I think it’s at least a commitment to management. First Kim Ng, then Arraes, and it could be a race out of the fire for reigning NL Manager of the Year Skip Schumacher and Billy Marlin.
It’s easy to joke, but Head was a first-round pick last year, and while he’s still nowhere near Miami, he has speed and is reportedly a good defender. Marcy is a closer with a lower ceiling, but he was the Arizona Fall League MVP last year, and even if he’s a fourth baseman, fourth basemen are valuable, especially in this ballpark. Martorella seems to be the opposite of Marcy: he has defensive limitations, but can hit. And as we mentioned above, this is a valuable skill. Finally, Go is a reliever and relievers are important.
All of this is to say that the Marlins were not embarrassed. They took a mix of perspectives with different levels of risk. That’s what you want here, maybe a safer fourth baseman and a guy who can mature into your everyday center.
These are the types of deals the Marlins need to make right now. If Bendix thought it was the best he could do and liked having some of the players return, the timing made sense. Get the players into your system, see how they are doing, and move on. Arráez was the Marlins’ third-best hitter behind Josh Bell and Avisail García and was easily the most productive this season. The Marlins are opting out of the remainder of his $10.6 million contract, and they also don’t have to pay him what he will earn in arbitration as a Super Two next year.
It’s not that the Marlins have given up on Brian De La Cruz: Arraes is a good player and that should give the Padres options in their lineup, but he’s not a franchise-changer in any way.
Parenting class: B
Marlins Class: B
Additional twin class: A+
GO DEEPER
San Diego Padres’ top 20 prospects for 2024: Ethan Salas and Jackson Merrill lead the way
(Foto superior de Arraez: Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
2024-05-04 03:06:12
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