Luis Arraez it was a rare bright spot amid a rough start to the season for the Giants. The three-time hitting major hit .316/.340/.398 with a total of six strikeouts in his first 144 plate appearances.
That’s about what one would expect from the game’s top contact hitter. What’s more surprising is how well he’s done and returned to second place. Arraez has ranked as a below-average outfielder throughout his career and had a major milestone last year in San Diego. He prioritized signing with a team that would allow him to return to second base. The Giants obliged, at least in part because of their faith in one of the most respected coaches in sports, Ron Washington.
Even the front office probably didn’t expect Arraez to play well defensively. Statcast gave him an Outs Above Average of nine, the best mark for a second baseman in MLB. Defensive Runs Saved has four at +5, tied for the top in the National League (with Washington’s Nasim Nunez) and second in the Majors behind Seattle’s Cole Young. Arraez recorded 110 strikeouts and pitched nearly 300 innings without an error.
The whole package made him a key player for San Francisco in six weeks. The team around him did not perform as expected. The Giants have lost eight of their last nine games and sit a season-high nine games under .500.
Their 14-23 record is tied with the Mets for worst in the National League. They already face what appears to be an insurmountable gap behind the Dodgers and Padres in the NL West. Every team in the NL Central is over .500, paving the way for underperforming teams like San Francisco, New York and Philadelphia to bounce back from slow starts.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle observes that the approach of the player and the team respectively points to Arraez being a valuable trade chip near the deadline. They’ve gotten a solid return on their one-year, $12MM deal. Arraez will be back on the market next winter before his age 30 season. He will be a worthy offer candidate if he continues this type of defense and the Giants hold on to him beyond the deadline.
QO will give the Giants some leverage if they are on the phone about trading Arraez. Still, if they approach the deadline without erasing a good portion of the first-season hole they dug themselves, they should at least see what’s available in a trade as a matter of diligence.
Arraez is one of their few obvious potential characters. Most of their struggles come from underperforming veterans on contracts that would be difficult or impossible to remove. Their upcoming free agents are Arraez and a mid-rotation starter Robbie Rayalthough the latter sports a higher salary of $25MM. Tyler Mahle he has a $10MM deal that would be easy for a buyout team to eat, but he alternates between good and bad starts and has a hard time losing at bats.
In the short term, Arraez is part of a strong field. The Giants have revealed a high prospect Bryce Eldridge to divide time Rafael Devers between first base and the designated hitter. Matt Chapman again Willy Adamsnone of them hit well late on, they were confined to the left.
That goes Casey Schmitt out of the obvious place respectively. He became the team’s best offensive player, hitting .296/.344/.539 with six homers—double the number of anyone else on the team. Obviously, they will not be able to remove him from the list who has scored 17 runs less than others.
Schmitt has started the last two games at second base while Arraez is out with an injured thumb. The latter is expected to return to the lineup to face the Pirates this weekend. That may be the forerunner of the first outdoor activity of Schmitt’s career.
President of baseball Buster Posey and manager Tony Vitello each said this week that Schmitt will take the diamond to continue playing time (link via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). The first-year captain said he feels Schmitt is athletic enough to hold the field at corner, though he warned the team “will have to do (that) smartly.”
Schmitt has yet to pitch one inning of outfield work at San Diego State or at any point in his minor league or MLB career. He told Pavlovic that he is ready to play anywhere to stay on the roster. Schmitt is a versatile runner who has shown versatility in the interior. It’s certainly not out of the question that he could be a good or better outfielder, although Oracle Park is not an easy home park to take.
The Giants made a point of improving the outfield defense with Harrison Bader to sign. That pushed Jung Hoo Lee from center to right. Bader went cold on the ice offensively and went on the injured list on April 12 with a strained left hamstring. Lee has started fewer players in center as a result, but still plays right field. Drew Gilbert it has always been filled first in the center. Heliot Ramos has started all but three games in left field.
Lee and Ramos each struggled. Despite near-average contributions from Gilbert, the Giants had one of the weakest fielding teams in the game (.176/.212/.272 in 133 PAs). Using Schmitt on the grass would be one of their quick options to try to spark some life into the offense.
