PHOENIX — Less than two hours before Luis Arraez stepped into the left-handed batter’s box Saturday at Chase Field, San Diego Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller sat in the visitors dugout and described the simple vision that had compelled him to make an unusually timed trade.
“From an offensive standpoint,” Preller said, “you want to be able to put pressure on the other team.”
At 5:10 p.m., Arraez commenced an exercise in instant gratification.
The two-time All-Star and defending National League batting champion connected with the second pitch of his first plate appearance, roping a double down the right-field line. He ended his next at-bat by carving a line drive to the opposite field. He went that way again in his third encounter with Brandon Pfaadt, flicking a changeup out of the zone for another single to left. Then, as if he hadn’t already made enough of an impression, Arraez dumped a third single into right-center to open the top of the seventh.
It was around then that the Arizona Diamondbacks decisively succumbed to all that pressure. The Padres scored eight runs in that inning and went on to win their fourth consecutive game, 13-1. Arraez, who had been acquired from the Miami Marlins hours earlier, finished 4-for-6 with two runs, an RBI and two at-bats in the top of the seventh. From their dugout and then inside their clubhouse, his new teammates marveled at his impact.
“He inspired us all, the way that he hits,” left fielder Jurickson Profar said.
“I absolutely love him,” right-hander Michael King said. “It’s like a spark plug.”
“This is my first day, and I love this team already,” Arraez said. “I hope we continue to play like that and then stay together, man. We are family, and I just want to be here and do my little things.”
Luis causing havoc!!! pic.twitter.com/dwQOfxp5rA
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 5, 2024
For Arraez, Saturday was a striking example of his ability to stack small contributions in a significant way. His Padres debut marked both the first four-hit introduction in franchise history and Arraez’s 12th four-hit game since the start of the 2022 season. No major leaguer has more four-hit games in that span. San Diego, as a team, had tallied 23 four-hit games before Preller engineered a rare May blockbuster.
The general manager’s motivations now seem obvious. The Padres in December relinquished their best hitter, Juan Soto, to cut costs and acquire needed pitching depth. They traded for Dylan Cease in March in an attempt to replace departed Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell. Around the same time, they engaged in talks with a club verging on a rebuild. Marlins left-hander Jesús Luzardo had become less of a target after the arrival of Cease. Miami’s lefty-hitting leadoff man, meanwhile, still qualified as a tantalizing possibility.
“We knew we were gonna need to find other ways to find offense,” Preller said. “A left-handed bat was something we had prioritized. And I think ultimately … we could wait or we could go out and try to get one of the better left-handed bats that we thought probably would be available, and do it now and go get Luis Arraez for 140 games versus getting somebody else for 60 games.”
The Padres did not wait long. A 9-24 start accelerated the Marlins’ decision to begin dismantling their roster. Talks between the two teams, Preller said, picked up over the past couple of weeks. A deal was struck Friday, with Miami agreeing to pay Arraez’s $10.6 million salary down to the major-league minimum. In the process of landing a unique talent, the Padres forked over significant prospect capital. They also slightly lowered their payroll and their luxury-tax figure.
“I think this was one where it lined up both ways, where we could add an elite talent, we could do it at a price that ultimately fit for us this year, and hopefully it enables us to do some other things down the road if we need to,” Preller said.
Saturday, at least for a night, the team’s needs felt less pronounced. The Padres amassed 18 hits, matching a season high they first achieved in their March 21 swat-fest in Seoul, South Korea. Profar, their hottest hitter, moved from the leadoff spot to the five-hole and supplied three hits, including a two-run homer. Scuffling second baseman Xander Bogaerts started in the six-hole for the first time since 2017 and doubled amid a seventh-inning parade of offense. Manny Machado drove in three runs, Ha-Seong Kim homered, and Jake Cronenworth and Jackson Merrill each contributed two hits. On defense, Fernando Tatis Jr. delivered a stunning throw from right field to support King’s scoreless outing.
Expect the unexpected when it comes to @tatis_jr. pic.twitter.com/gBnZgeAQPa
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 5, 2024
For San Diego, it was the kind of all-around effort that created welcome distance from a recent five-game losing streak. The Padres (18-18) have rebounded in large part because of their starting rotation’s 1.14 ERA over the past four games. Yet, as they clinched a second consecutive series, the addition of a 5-foot-10 hitter generated a palpable sense of momentum.
“I’ve seen him in the league before, obviously, but pretty special to see him up close,” manager Mike Shildt said of Arraez. “Great to have him on our side. Clearly an amazing approach. And I can see why he gets the rightful moniker of ‘The Sprinkler.’ I mean, you’re talking about just an artist with being able to hit the ball in the whole field and hit it where it’s pitched. That was a sight to behold. What a talent.”
Arraez, who had been staying in San Francisco during a road trip with the Marlins, landed in Phoenix at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday. He arrived in the visitors clubhouse at Chase Field around 3:30 p.m. and soon met with Shildt and Preller. About an hour later, he made his Padres debut as the team’s leadoff man and designated hitter. Two pitches in, he already was 1-for-1.
After he provided three more hits in his subsequent three at-bats, and after the Padres romped to a victory, he described being low on sleep and high on adrenaline.
“It changes a lot,” Arraez said. “I mean, I lose a lot in Miami. And I miss my ex-teammates and the coaching staff there; everybody knows that. But thanks (to) God I’m here right now and now I’m on a winning team. I know it’s hard when you go to the stadium and play and then lose the game. So thanks God to change my life right now. And then I’m here to prepare my mind and … win a lot of games.”
The Padres know they can expect daily energy from Arraez, who wasted no time in bringing a trademark celebration to his new club: After each of his three singles, Arraez enthusiastically smacked the chest of first-base coach David Macias. The team anticipates it will continue easing Arraez in as a designated hitter before working him in at second base and first base. There will be discussions, Preller said, about third base and left field, two other positions Arraez has played in the past.
“I think now we have an opportunity to rest a few guys if they need a day,” Preller added. “It’ll be up to Mike and his staff kind of how that lineup looks at the end of the day, but even if we’re sitting somebody that’s a regular in our lineup, we should have a very competitive team and (be able to) give somebody a day off.”
Despite his versatility, Arraez might not be an ideal fit on an infielder-laden roster. Never known for his defense, he entered Saturday last in the majors in outs above average. A slow start on offense had helped limit his contributions this season to exactly zero FanGraphs wins above replacement.
But, all season, the Padres had sought a deeper lineup and greater consistency from the left side. It can be difficult to quantify the influence of one of the sport’s premier leadoff men and on-base threats. Arraez’s wizardry with a bat has attracted comparisons to the greatest Padre of all time, and it is a testament to the 27-year-old that such praise does not feel like a complete stretch.
“It’s hard to have a comp to Tony Gwynn,” Shildt said, “but if there is one in our modern game, we now have him on our team and that just feels right, doesn’t it?”
Saturday, at least for a night, it felt that way. Arraez collected three hits against the first six pitches he saw. Padres players crowded the top railing of the dugout, trading cheerful gestures with the newcomer. The offense gave King an early lead, added on in the fourth and flattened the Diamondbacks’ pitching staff three innings later. The effect of Arraez’s unmistakable hitting style already appeared to be rubbing off.
“I do think it actually continues to solidify the approach of this offense and (what) Victor Rodriguez, our hitting coach, has established,” Shildt said. “We’ve played the game, played situational baseball. But now we see a guy that takes that even to the next level and is able to model and demonstrate that. It’s only going to continue to feed our whole lineup.”
After the game, one of Arraez’s new teammates offered a strong testimonial. Profar had witnessed rare bat-to-ball skills in the top of the fourth, when Arraez threw his barrel on an outside pitch for a two-out, run-scoring single. Three innings later, as the Padres paraded around the bases, the left fielder saw a slider on the outer edge of the plate.
“He inspired me, getting those hits that he got,” Profar said. “On that homer, I got to 3-2. I wanted to just throw a base hit like he did, and I hit it on the barrel pretty good.”
(Photo of Luis Arraez’s reaction after his first-inning double Saturday against the Diamondbacks: Norm Hall / Getty Images)
