The San Diego Padres are an MLB team that is going to be entering the 2026 free agency period with a lot of decisions to make. For now, San Diego is still worried about the task at hand, which is to win the National League Pennant.
AJ Preller is at the top of the helm of the Padres' front office, and some of the impending free agents currently on the roster are Ryan O'Hearn, Dylan Cease, and Luiz Arráez.
Should the Padres re-sign Luis Arráez?
The San Diego Padres acquired Luis Arraez from the Miami Marlins via trade early in the 2024 season, and now he is set to enter the free agent market after the season. Arraez's free agency is going to be a real measuring stick of not only the market but also how much front offices truly value him as a player.
He's led his respective league in batting average for three seasons in his career.
However, when he's not hitting for a high average, Arraez doesn't hold much value as a hitter. In 143 games this season, his OPS+ is 95, and has just 7 home runs. He is still hitting in the high .280s, but has just a 1.9 bWAR with the Padres in 1077 at-bats.
So, should the Padres re-sign him? That will be up to AJ Preller and the rest of the Padres executives. Arraez is still considered an effective leadoff hitter, but it will be interesting to see how much a team wants to commit to him in terms of AAV, and the amount of years on a potential deal.
A lot of the decision will also have to do with how he performs in the playoffs. Last season against the Dodgers, he held back the Padres when they had so many scoreless innings on offense because of his inability to get on base.