Luis Arraez Has Turned Into the Best Rental Bat Available

Luis Arraez had limited suitors this past winter while looking for his next home. What looked like a declining bat with little defensive value was simply not something many teams were jumping to sign up for.

However, the San Francisco Giants were the outlier, and it’s looking like a decision that will pay off. Surely, nobody in their front office could’ve guessed it would’ve gone this well for the 28-year-old in his lone campaign with the club.

While fans were hoping it’d lead to an eventual playoff berth, Arraez’s impressive start will probably help them in an arguably more important area.

With an underwhelming free-agent class on the horizon, the second baseman now looks like the best rental bat on the market. As the trade deadline approaches, continued success for Arraez will only benefit San Francisco’s future.

Stats taken prior to play on June 17.

A Career Revitalization

Heading into the 2026 campaign, Arraez looked like a fading hitter at the ripe age of 29 years old. Full season career lows in batting average, on-base percentage, wRC+, and fWAR in 2025 were likely reasons why teams were hesitant to hand him a contract in the offseason.

The lack of overall defensive value to go along with the regressed numbers made him an unappealing addition.

Fortunately for San Francisco, the down year in 2025 now looks like the outlier. Arraez is posting his best numbers across the board since 2023 and has comfortably turned himself into one of the better second basemen in baseball.

Through his first 70 games of the year, he’s slashed .324/.356/.442 with a 121 wRC+ and 2.7 fWAR. All of those numbers, outside of his slugging percentage, rank within the top five among qualified second basemen in baseball, while his fWAR is tied for the second-best mark in the league with Milwaukee’s Brice Turang.

Now, a return to his offensive excellence wasn’t a complete surprise considering what he’s done in the past. However, nobody could have predicted what he’s been able to do on the defensive side of things.

While an eventual Gold Glove win may be stretching it, a nomination wouldn’t be insane. By several advanced metrics, he’s been the second best defensive second baseman in baseball.

His fielding run value of +8 and his+9 outs above average only trail St. Louis’ breakout rookie JJ Wetherholt. While his defensive runs saved are perfectly league average, the improvements are still mind-boggling.

From the start of 2019 through the conclusion of 2025, Arraez’s -36 outs above average and -28 fielding run value were the worst marks in baseball among second basemen with at least 2,500 innings at the position.

This jump in defensive reliability is likely thanks to the work of infield guru Ron Washington and has clearly led to an uptick in the overall value Arraez brings to the table.

Posey’s Focus

With deadline reports coming out and plans starting to come together, we’re getting a clearer picture of what San Francisco’s plans are going to look like. A recent nugget from ESPN’s Buster Olney suggests that an Arraez trade is all but guaranteed.

“The Giants are open to offers for their three highest-paid position players — Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, Matt Chapman — among other obvious trade candidates, like Luis Arraez and Robbie Ray.”

– Buster Olney via X

Potential contenders like the Rays, Phillies, Reds, and A’s are all realistic suitors considering they’ve gotten some of the worst production at second base over the first two and a half months of the season.

The Dodgers would also hypothetically make sense, but an intra-division trade is extremely unlikely, especially considering the last deal between the historic rivals came in 2007.

Whoever the trade partner is for San Francisco, the goal should be clear — build around Bryce Eldridge.

While it’s early in his career, the 21-year-old looks like the future in San Francisco. Even if Luis Arraez doesn’t fetch you a top-tier prospect, having arguably the best rental position player is going to benefit their future.

Big-league-ready pitching should probably be the priority, but whatever they can bring in to increase their chances at winning during the Eldridge era would be a welcome addition.

The Giants are in an interesting position heading into the early-August trade deadline. With star players Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, and Matt Chapman being on contracts that are likely immovable, complimentary pieces like Arraez turn into their most prized possessions.

Thanks to a return to form on offense and an unexpected jump to defensive supremacy, Arraez should bring a decent haul to an already improving farm system in San Francisco.