The Pittsburgh Pirates have surprised the MLB by making moves to actually seem like they want to contend, most recently by trading for Brandon Lowe. Now, if they really want to show they’re serious, they need to go out and get another star offensive player.
According to Fansided’s Christopher Kline, the Pirates should make that player be San Diego Padres three-time All-Star Luis Arraez. Arraez is a three-time batting champ, and definitely could improve their offense immensely.
“Pittsburgh just needs some measure of consistent production offensively. Brandon Lowe helps — and provides a lot of pop, which is helpful — but the Pirates need more players who can just find their way on base and sustain runs. Arráez feels like an extremely cheap option relative to his baseline production. Pittsburgh can have him split time between first base and DH without sacrificing much flexibility,” Kline wrote.
This past season, Arraez slashed.292/.327/.392/.719 with 30 doubles, eight home runs, and 61 RBI in 154 games played. However, in past seasons, he’s had an average as high as.354/. And multiple 200-hit seasons.
Combining Arraez and Lowe would be a good idea. A contact hitter in front of a slugger is always a good move, and if they get an elite contact guy like Arraez ahead of a 30-homer slugger in Lowe, they definitely could revamp Pittsburgh’s offense.
Arraez will also be pretty cheap as well, as he’s projected to earn a five-year, $70.5 million deal in free agency this year. For a money-conscious team like the Pirates, this could be the perfect move to make.
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