Rays considered 'heavy favorite' to trade for .328 batting-average All-Star 2B

The Tampa Bay Rays are leading the charge in the wide-open American League and have every reason to be major buyers at this year's trade deadline.

They have already traded for Freddy Peralta in a trade with the New York Mets, and now they might be shifting gears to acquire offensive help. There are plenty of worthwhile options to consider, but one player has emerged as a likely option for Tampa Bay.

According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the Rays are considered to be the "heavy favorite" to acquire .328 batting average, All-Star second baseman Luis Arraez from the San Francisco Giants.

Rays are 'heavy favorite' to trade for Giants' Luis Arraez

"The Tampa Bay Rays are the heavy favorite to acquire three-time batting champion Luis Arraez from the Giants," Nightengale reports.

San Francisco is going to sell, and Arraez is very likely to be traded. He's a rental infielder who is having a breakout season defensively while keeping up his league-leading offensive production.

Arraez might not be a power hitter, but he does have some of the best bat-to-ball skills in the league and some of the best discipline in modern baseball.

This season, his .328 batting average leads the Major Leagues. He has 136 hits, 23 doubles, seven triples, and four home runs with 3.2 bWAR and an .810 OPS and 129 OPS+ for the Giants.

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But, one of the reasons why he'd be such a nice pickup is that he has struck out just 21 times this season, but has walked 25 times. It's rare for a hitter in today's game to walk more than strikeout.

Arraez would slide right into the Rays' second base spot and likely make home atop the lineup for Tampa Bay as a major focal point of their offense going forward.

That is, if they can actually win the bidding war for him. The Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, and many other clubs are also showing serious interest in Arraez.

It's not going to be easy to land the four-time All-Star second baseman, but the Rays' strong farm system, their need at second base, and this report from Nightengale that they're the "heavy favorite" is a good sign the Rays can actually land Arraez this summer.

More MLB news:

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• Yankees linked to Padres for potential rotation for bullpen swap
• Diamondbacks linked to Nationals’ Luis Garcia Jr. as perfect trade fit
• Red Sox predicted to trade for Tigers’ Gleyber Torres at deadline
• Yankees predicted to trade for Marlins’ Liam Hicks by ESPN