Reports indicated during the offseason a year ago that the New York Yankees were interested in trading for San Diego Padres infielder Luis Arráez.
Arráez is a very tough player to evaluate, and with him set to hit the free agency market this winter, there might not be a more polarizing player available.
If a team loves batting average and guys who can put the ball and play, Arráez would be their guy. However, if they want somebody with pop, Arráez certainly isn’t that.
Will the Yankees Make a Move for Luis Arráez?
Nonetheless, it was important that the Yankees had interest in him a year ago, as it could be a blueprint for what’s to come.
“The Yankees are unquestionably a deeper team — and they’re not done, either. They’ve continued to discuss Luis Arráez with San Diego and inquired about Gavin Lux, whom the Dodgers could trade, to fill their open second-base slot. When the contract demands for relief pitching drop, the Yankees could dabble there, too,” Jeff Passan of ESPN wrote in January.
The question for the Yankees truly comes down to how much they’re willing to pay Arráez if they want that type of player.
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There’s certainly an argument to be made that he could hit in front of Aaron Judge and some of the other sluggers in the Yankees lineup to get on base.
Spotrac had him coming in at a $70.5 million deal over five seasons, which would not only be a few too many years, but a decent amount of money to chalk up to a player who doesn’t really do much outside of putting the ball in play at a high level.
Of course, there’s value in that, and it’s unfair to suggest that Arráez is a bad player by any means, but batting average is so undervalued in this game that it might not make much sense to consider signing him.
