The Philadelphia Phillies acquired second baseman Luis Arraez at the MLB trade deadline from the San Francisco Giants, and while it wasn't a very successful tenure, he still had a productive 2026 season as a whole.
His defense was vastly improved, and his offensive production was still in line with his normal contact-first approach. Now a free agent, it will be interesting to see where his new deal falls.
ESPN's Kiley McDaniel is projecting that Arraez, with "plenty of demand" predicted, will get a $54 million contract this offseason that would make plenty of sense after a solid rebound season.
Luis Arraez gets $54M contract projection with 'plenty of demand' expected
"12. Luis Arraez, 2B... Projected contract/QO: three years, $54 million (18 AAV), not eligible for QO," McDaniel projects. "... Some teams might be skeptical of his defensive improvement and/or not prioritizing this extreme type of hitter, but I think there will be plenty of demand."
While modern baseball has shifted more towards players who can hit home runs, Arraez's style of play is still something that plenty of teams around baseball value.
The Milwaukee Brewers just won the World Series with a team that wasn't designed to hit a lot of homers. Their opponent, the Tampa Bay Rays, was built in a similar way.
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After a mediocre stint with the Phillies, it wouldn't be a surprise if Arraez left the Phillies this offseason for a new club. If he does, there will likely be plenty of teams interested in his services.
Thanks to not having the qualifying offer eligible for him, he should draw even more interest than some of the other free agents who would cost a team draft capital if they were to sign them.
Arraez might not land top-of-the-market money, but as a 29-year-old second baseman with quality defense and elite contact ability, there will be teams interested, and a $54 million contract over three years is very much in play for the Phillies free agent.
McDaniel is projecting that, amid "plenty of interest" from teams around MLB, Arraez will land a $54 million contract with an AAV of $18 million this offseason. Whether it's with the Phillies or not is still way too early to tell.
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