Luis Arraez, Giants Reportedly Agree to Contract in MLB Free Agency

Free agent infielder Luis Arráez has signed a one-year contract with the San Francisco Giants, per ESPN's Jorge Castillo.

The deal is worth $12 million, per The Athletic's Katie Woo.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported that Arráez will play second base.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com previously reported that Arráez was considering multiple deals but prioritized playing second base again after handling first base for the San Diego Padres last year. Arráez notably played 117 of his 131 games in the field last year at first.

The 28-year-old has played for the Miami Marlins, Minnesota Twins and Padres over his seven-year career. He is a three-time All-Star, three-time batting champion and two-time Silver Slugger.

Last year, Arráez led the National League with 181 hits while hitting .292 (.719 OPS) and amassing eight home runs and 61 RBI for the 90-win Padres, who made the playoffs.

There's no doubt Arráez is a tremendous contact hitter. However, he had a slow market, and Ken Rosenthal of Foul Territory explained why a bit during a recent chat on the "Foul Territory" podcast on Tuesday, when his future home wasn't certain yet.

"Not exactly sure, it's almost February, and we have not heard much about him," Rosenthal said, when asked where he thought Arráez was headed.

"It doesn't mean things are not going on behind the scenes, but Arraez is a guy who really is the most fascinating free agent in so many ways. Obviously he has what they call the hit tool. He can hit for average. That is the thing he does extraordinarily well. The rest of his game is the problem. And we're talking about defense, of course, and we're talking about power. He has no power in an age when basically you need power. And his defense, whether it's second or first, is not at an average level at this stage of his career."

Rosenthal then issued a thought that turned out to be the case.

"There are spots I can imagine him being. The Giants are still looking for a second baseman, I don't know if they would want want to compromise their infield defense in that way, but maybe they would."

San Francisco is in fact his new home as Arráez joins a Giants team looking to break out of a mediocre malaise that's seen the team win between 79-81 games each season from 2022-2025. Arráez can certainly help, and he makes a solid infield even better.

The Giants' big issue is a brutal division with the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and two playoff-hopeful teams in the Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks. Arráez is a nice addition for the Giants, though, as they look to rise up the standings.