San Diego Padres infielder Luis Arraez remains hopeful that the Padres will extend his contract before the 2025 season. He has one year remaining on his contract. As well he wants to play with the Padres long-term. “I don’t want to think about a trade. I just want to play for the San Diego Padres next year.” His effortless and impressive hitting impacted the Padres in memorable ways throughout the season. Arraez was traded from the Miami Marlins to the Padres on May 3rd. Since joining the Padres, he recorded four games this season where he racked up four hits in a game.
Could the #Padres and Luis Arraez get together on a long-term deal this winter?https://t.co/dPmtMwyefP pic.twitter.com/Eb4CSkrOK5
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) October 13, 2024
Padres All-Star Wants to Extend Contract
Arraez’s Offensive 2024 Season
The 27-year-old had a successful season, proving he’s more than just a single-hitting hitter, earning the 2024 NL batting title. But this isn’t the first time he has won it. This is the third season in a row that he’s earned the batting title. He first won it in 2022 with the Minnesota Twins. Then, in 2023, with the Miami Marlins. Arraez ranked second in the top five for MLB hit leaders this season with 200. That’s also two seasons in a row that he’s recorded 200 hits. 159 of his 200 hits were also recorded with the Padres, solidifying his elite hitting for them.
Last season with the Marlins, he finished with 203. Talk about milestone achievements for a hitting machine. As well in the top five hitting leaders were Bobby Witt Jr. (211), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (199) Shohei Ohtani (197 hits), and Jarren Duran (191 hits). While the Padres are out of the postseason picture, they showcased a team stacked with clutch players in addition to Arraez—for example, Jurickson Profar, Jeremiah Estrada, Jackson Merrill, Dylan Cease, and many more.
Arraez Provides Strong Impact For Padres
The Padres had an improved season following 2023 when they missed the postseason. They finished the 2024 regular season second in the NL West with a 93-69 record. Marking this season as more memorable despite getting silenced by the LA Dodgers in the NLDS. A strong 2024 campaign for the Padres earned them their first 90-win season since 2010. While Luis is no power hitter, he’s provided the Padres with consistent hitting. As well, as his effectiveness in scoring runs with RISP. He is the type of hitter who doesn’t usually swing at the first pitch, which indicates that he is a patient hitter. He will put up battles at the plate against pitchers, making them pitch deep into counts.
With two strikes, he also hit .277 this season. This showcased great plate discipline as he went 141 consecutive plate appearances without striking out. It was the longest in MLB since Juan Pierre reached 147 in 2004. Arraez also owned the shortest swing length of 5.9 this season. The batting champ and leadoff hitter has faith in his team and is optimistic about remaining as a Padre. His clutch hitting has marked him as one of the best contact hitters in the league.
Main Photo Credits: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
