Former Marlins batting champ is playing through injury

It was only a few months ago, when the Miami Marlins made a very surprising trade. A trade that at the time made Peter Bendix unpopular among the fanbase. Many wondered how Luis Arraez, the multi-time batting champ could warrant such a low return. It turned out that he just wasn't valued around the industry, and certainly not at the levels that we all thought.

Former Miami Marlins batting champ Luis Arraez is playing through injury.

This hasn't been a good season for Luis Arraez, and we now have an idea as to some of the reason why. Perhaps we've been spoiled, but Arraez batted .354/.393/.469, with 10 home runs and 69 RBI in 147 games and 574 AB. He did this back in 2023, when he won the NL Batting Title with the Miami Marlins. He was worth an amazing 4.9 WAR and looked like an elite hitter.

I'll be the first to admit that I overrated Luis Arraez's value. I overlooked his inability to play good defense, his lack of speed and his lack of power. All of those things were apparently issues to other teams, which is why the trade return was surprisingly sub-par. The fact that The Fish had to pay the rest of his salary this season, was even more telling. As was the fact that when everyone's healthy, San Diego prefers to play Arraez as a DH.

This season didn't go well for Luis Arraez. He batted .299/.347/.372, with 0 home runs and 5 RBI in 33 games and 137 AB. Playing for the San Diego Padres so far, he's batting .309/.333/.383, with 3 home runs and 28 RBI in 78 games and 337 AB. He's been worth a staggeringly low 0.5 WAR. He's not going to win the batting title this season and other than the contact, there just doesn't seem much there.

At least some of Luis Arraez's problems are likely due to a torn thumb ligament from June 25. Playing through it has certainly affected his production. It'll be very interesting to see how Luis Arraez does in free agency next off-season, as he has a unique skillset in today's game.