ANALYSIS: Should Seattle Mariners Acquire 3-Time Batting Champion?
There's a little over a month until pitchers and catchers are expected to report to Spring Training, and the Seattle Mariners still have questions to answer before players arrive to the complex in Peoria, Ariz.
The Mariners entered the offseason looking for starters at second base and third base in addition to a first baseman to pair with Luke Raley.
Seattle has been confirmed to extend qualifying offers to first baseman Carlos Santana and middle infielder Hye-seong Kim. Both players chose to sign elsewhere.
The Mariners also reportedly declined a trade that would have sent starting pitcher Luis Castillo to the Boston Red Sox in return for first baseman Triston Casas and designated hitter Masataka Yoshida.
Seattle has had options to find solutions to the holes in its roster. But whether it was patience, confidence or simply a lack of finances, none of those options have come to fruition. And after Kim signed with the Dodgers, many fans on social media pointed out another potential solution for the Mariners: MLB batting champion and first baseman/second baseman/designated hitter Luis Arraez.
Arraez has led the major leagues in batting average for three consecutive years. He hit .316 with the Minnesota Twins in 2022, .354 with the Miami Marlins in 2023 and .314 with the Marlins and San Diego Padres in 2024.
Luis Arraez had 672 plate appearances in 2024…he put the ball in play during 611 of them. pic.twitter.com/jxo7FTQyOo
— Sam Fosberg (@discussbaseball) January 2, 2025
On the surface, Arraez, and his batting average, would seem like a clear positive addition for Seattle's lineup. But a deep-dive into his numbers shows that some statistics might not be a positive in the Pacific Northwest.
Arraez's on-base percentage and slugging were both under .400. His OBP was .346 and his slugging stood at .392.
Arraez was still an above-average hitter in 2024. He had a 109 wRC+ in 2024. But that was still a noticeable drop-off from the 130 mark he posted of the same stat in 2022 and 2023.
Streamer projections for 2025 has Arraez finding a middle ground between 2022-23 and 2024 and have a 118 wRC+.
There's also the issue of salary. Arraez is set to earn $13.7 million in 2025 before hitting free agency in 2026. Spending a decent amount of change for a potential one-year rental who plays bad defense (-13 outs above replacement, according to Baseball Savant) and needs to hit at a consistently high level to get on base isn't ideal.
But Arraez would likely hit in the bottom half of the order with the Mariners, which is where he would best be used. Arraez doesn't bring in a lot of runs or hits for power. But batting in the 7-9 spots in the lineup in Seattle could lead to opportunities for an extra base runner when the top half of the order comes to bat.
It's unlikely he would become a plus-defender, but Mariners infield coach Perry Hill helped coach Josh Rojas to a Gold Glove-caliber season at third base in 2024.
Arraez isn't a perfect fit for Seattle. He probably isn't even an ideal one. But the team is running out of options.
At this moment, the infield sans shortstop will be the following: Tyler Locklear/Raley at first base, Ryan Bliss/Leo Rivas/Cole Young/Dylan Moore at second base and Moore/Ben Williamson/Austin Shenton at third base.
If that lineup holds, that would mean the Mariners would be banking on at least two, potentially as many four prospects or unproven players to be meaningful contributors.
That's a big number of players with question marks to bank on. Even under the tutelage of hitting coach Kevin Sietzer and Senior Director of Hitting Strategy Edgar Martinez.
Seattle needs players. And it needs to find them fast. And even if he isn't the player fans wanted when the offseason began, Arraez is a player. And an effective one.
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