Craig Mish makes a shocking statement on a recent Miami Marlins trade

On May 4, the Miami Marlins traded 2B Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres for Minor Leaguers Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee and Nathan Martorella along with RP Woo-Suk Go (who was designated for assignment soon after). The trade was largely praised for The Fish by the media, but the fans thought that the return was surprisingly weak. Craig Mish of the Miami Herald however cleared that up.

Craig Mish says that former Miami Marlins 2B Luis Arraez didn't have much value.

Luis Arraez was the batting champion for both the American League in 2022 and the National League in 2023. He batted .316/.375/.420 in 144 games and 547 AB for the Minnesota Twins in 2022. He then batted .354/.393/.469 in 147 games and 574 AB for the Miami Marlins in 2023. Arraez was batting .299/.347/.372 in 33 games and 137 AB for The Fish prior to being traded. The return didn't bring any top 100 prospects back, so the fans were stunned.

Craig Mish has made it pretty clear: "No one wants to hear it but Arraez is not a highly coveted player. The offers before the season were meager at best."

As an insider, it's important to note that Mish knows what he's talking about very well. The silly and ridiculous idea that Peter Bendix rushed into a trade and missed out on some great offers is complete and utter nonsense. The trade that took place was the best possible return that The Fish could've received. Arraez is a free agent after next season and the more team control the acquiring team would've received, the more they would have given back in return. Arraez's skillset is well known and his value would not have fluctuated based on extra batting average points.

So why was Luis Arraez's trade value so low? He's never hit more than 10 home runs in a season, is slow running the bases and is a poor defender. He actually had a -0.2 dWAR prior to the trade and was acquired by San Diego as a DH.

Designated hitters with no power are not in demand at all. So there you have it, there was no better return for Luis Arraez. He was not a realistic extension candidate due to being useless if his contact skills decline, and it was the best way to get something of value in return for the Miami Marlins.