Giants land another key piece in 3-time batting champ Arraez (source)
January 31st, 2026
Maria Guardado
The Giants have been shopping around for second-base upgrades throughout the offseason. On Saturday, they finally got their guy.
The Giants have agreed to a one-year deal worth $12 million with three-time batting champion Luis Arraez, a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. The team has not confirmed the agreement, which is pending a physical.
San Francisco reportedly explored trades for the Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan, the Cubs’ Nico Hoerner and the Nationals’ CJ Abrams before eventually pivoting to the 28-year-old Arraez, who is known for his elite bat-to-ball skills and leads active players with a .317 career batting average over his seven seasons with the Twins, Marlins and Padres.
Arraez has topped the National League in hits in each of the past two seasons, displaying the knack for contact that Buster Posey -- another former NL batting champion -- has put a premium on since taking over as the Giants’ president of baseball operations.
Giants second basemen tied for 26th in the Majors with a .617 OPS in 2025, so Arraez should help deepen a lineup that is projected to include three other talented infielders in third baseman Matt Chapman, shortstop Willy Adames and first baseman Rafael Devers.
The left-handed-hitting Arraez recorded the lowest strikeout rate (3.1%) among qualified hitters in the Majors en route to batting .292 with a .719 OPS and eight home runs over 154 games for San Diego last year. But he also finished the season with a career-low 99 OPS+, which put him a tick below league average.
While Arraez excels at spraying the ball all over the field, he rarely posts impressive exit velocities and finished last among qualified hitters with a 16.7% hard-hit rate in 2025. Arraez also has deficiencies with the glove, as he’s tallied -35 Outs Above Average since 2023, the second-worst mark in the Majors behind Abrams. Arraez primarily played first base for the Padres, but the Giants plan to slot him back into second base, a position he hasn’t played full-time since 2023. Still, San Francisco could try to mitigate Arraez’s defensive shortcomings by regularly mixing in Casey Schmitt and Christian Koss at the position.
Arraez’s arrival figures to push Schmitt into a super-utility role, though Schmitt has grown accustomed to playing all over the infield over his last three seasons with the Giants.
Arraez is the second free-agent position player the Giants have signed this offseason, joining center fielder Harrison Bader, who finalized a two-year, $20.5 million contract on Friday. San Francisco also bolstered its pitching staff by signing veteran starters Adrian Houser (two years, $22 million) and Tyler Mahle (one year, $10 million) and relievers Sam Hentges (one year, $1.4 million) and Jason Foley (one year, $2 million).
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