Should Yankees trade for three-time batting champion Luis Arraez?

The New York Yankees made it clear they were not interested in a reunion with second baseman Gleyber Torres , who signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Detroit Tigers last month.

Torres told Tigers reporters after the deal was finalized that the Yankees did not offer him a contract nor had much communication with him after the World Series ended.

Advertisement I got a lot of phone calls from other teams and just focused to get an opportunity in another place, Torres said.

I feel like I have to play where somebody wants to give the best for me, and I just want to be available to do the best for the team.

Ive got great friends there, great communication with the entire organization.

I feel proud of myself for being with the Yankees for seven years, but now Im with Detroit and just really happy they gave me the opportunity to play next year.

I think the (Yankees) have other priorities and Im not on the list.

Im good.

The Yankees are now searching to fill either second or third base, depending on where the club decides to play Jazz Chisholm Jr.

When the offseason began, the Yankees signaled that Caleb Durbin was the odds-on favorite to start at second base.

Then Durbin was included with Nestor Cortes in a trade to the Milwaukee Brewers for closer Devin Williams .

That move left the Yankees with DJ LeMahieu , Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza as possible starting options at second or third base.

Each player has limitations, so the Yankees have to look at external options.

Enter three-time batting champion Luis Arraez .

On Monday, ESPNs Jeff Passan reported that the Yankees and San Diego Padres continue to discuss a trade that would send Arraez to New York.

Arraez is a polarizing player across the industry, as his value is challenging to quantify properly.

No one in MLB made more contact in 2024 than Arraez.

When he swung, he made contact with all pitches 94.2 percent of the time.

However, not all contact is created equal, which is why opposing executives have been divided on his value.

Arraez consistently ranks near the bottom in average exit velocity, hard-hit percentage, barrel percentage and walk rate.

Arraez would solve two major Yankees issues: They lack hitters who consistently get on base and have no clear option to lead off.

Even rarely walking, Arraez has a career .372 on-base percentage.

Yankees fans can envision Arraez setting the table for Aaron Judge to drive him in.

Because of how aggressively Arraez attacks pitches in the strike zone, there would be ample opportunities for him to put the ball in play given opposing pitchers tend to attack anyone who hits in front of the Yankees captain.

Because Arraez is mostly a singles hitter, he may not be the best fit for someone playing half of his games at Yankee Stadium.

According to Statcast, Yankee Stadium is the worst park in MLB for left-handed hitters to hit singles because theres not much grass with the friendly home run dimensions in right field.

Arraez could see a small spike in power, but hes not a slugger.

He hunts for singles and doubles.

Advertisement The Yankees should be concerned with Arraezs overall game, though.

Hes a horrible defender at any position he plays.

If Yankees fans thought Torres was abysmal, Arraez is worse.

In 339 innings played at second base this season, Arraez finished with minus-7 outs above average, the same number Torres ended the season with.

However, the latter played over 1,300 innings at second base.

In 585 career innings at third base, Arraez also has minus-7 outs above average.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has said he wants to improve the club defensively this offseason, but trading for Arraez would not accomplish that.

Arraez is also a below-average base runner and one of the slower everyday players in the sport.

Any external option the Yankees consider has to be judged against LeMahieu, whos the likeliest internal option to start.

LeMahieu was one of MLBs worst players this season and has declined significantly since finishing third in the 2020 American League MVP voting.

When looking solely at the past two seasons, nothing suggests LeMahieu should be taken seriously as an option to start for a World Series-contending club.

Arraez is a free agent at the end of the 2025 season and is projected to earn $14.6 million through the arbitration process, according to MLB Trade Rumors.

Thats $400,000 less than what Torres will make with the Tigers.

Torres has his limitations, particularly defensively, and Arraez does, too.

But running it back with Torres was simply not an option for the Yankees, even if they could pursue someone with the same glaring fault.

(Photo: Kevin C.

Cox / Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.