Luis Arraez’s 2026 season gave the Twins something they didn’t have before: a real reason to think about bringing him back.
Minnesota is heading into an offseason full of uncertainty, with collective bargaining talks hanging over the sport and an expected lockout that could begin on Dec. 1.
The Twins also have their own roster questions to sort through as they try to bolster a young core. Tom Pohlad has already hinted the club plans to raise payroll, and if that turns into real spending, Arraez suddenly becomes a name worth circling.
He just finished another productive year at the plate, batting .310/.345/.419 with eight homers, 64 RBI and 10 stolen bases on 11 attempts in 151 games split between the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies. But the bigger development was on defense, where he finally answered the question that has followed him for years.
That matters because Arraez’s bat has never really been in doubt. He arrived in Minnesota in 2019 and quickly became one of the most popular Twins around. While “The Bomba Squad” was launching balls into the seats, Arraez was carving out his own lane with contact and consistency, hitting .344/.399/.439 with four homers, 28 RBI and two stolen bases on four attempts as a rookie.
He kept it going after that. In four seasons with the Twins, Arraez hit .314/.374/.410 with 14 homers, 132 RBI and eight stolen bases on 16 attempts, and he won his first batting title in 2022 with a .316 average.
But the glove never settled anywhere. He bounced around first base, second base, third base and the outfield, and that lack of a home eventually helped push Minnesota to trade him to the Miami Marlins for Pablo Lopez in January 2023.
The deal was unpopular with Twins fans, but Lopez became the top-of-the-rotation arm Minnesota had been missing. Arraez, meanwhile, kept piling up batting titles and changing uniforms. He hit .354 to win another title with the Marlins in 2023, then won his third while batting .314 between the Marlins and the San Diego Padres in 2024.
His move to the Giants came after the 2025 season, in part because they were willing to let him play full-time at second base and work with former Twins assistant Ron Washington. That partnership paid off. Washington helped him with pregame drills that sharpened his anticipation and first-step quickness, and Arraez went from the worst outs above average rating in baseball at minus-61 since his debut in 2019 through the 2025 season to plus-12 in 103 games between the Giants and the Phillies.
“Every play that he’s supposed to make, he’s made,” Washington told MLB.com’s Maria Guardado last May. “He’s made plays up the middle where he just had to get rid of the ball.
He’s turned tough double plays. He turned some tough, tough balls where he had to go to the hole and come back and throw to the shortstop.
He’s made perfect throws. Those are the types of things that go in the work category.”
That defensive turnaround is what makes a reunion more realistic now. If Minnesota decides Royce Lewis is no longer part of the long-term plan after he posted a career-low .227/.387/.380 line and saw his OPS drop for the fourth straight season, the Twins could move him and open up first base. That could shift Kody Clemens to first and create a hole at second base.
Luke Keaschall opened the 2026 season there, but he was moved to the outfield in part because of a minus-12 OAA rating. With no obvious prospect ready to claim second base, free agency could be the answer - and Arraez would be sitting right there.
The catch is the price. After making $12 million last season, a rival American League executive told FanSided’s Pat Ragazzo that Arraez could land a five-year, $100 million deal next winter. Minnesota may decide that’s too steep, especially with a logjam of infielders in the system and the possibility of holding the line with a cheaper option while waiting for 2025 first-round pick Marek Houston to reach the majors and push Kaelen Culpepper from shortstop to second.
Still, the Twins have other reasons to spend. Pohlad said at season’s end that payroll should rise and that the club will “meaningfully invest” in the roster, according to MLB.com writer Matthew Leach. A new collective bargaining agreement could also bring a salary floor, which would force spending after Minnesota finished last season with a $111 million payroll.
There are other places the money could go, including Ryan Jeffers or extensions for Joe Ryan and some of the team’s young players, the way the Milwaukee Brewers did on their way to winning the World Series. But Arraez would bring something else too: a bridge back to fans who never really let go.
His No. 2 jersey was all over Target Field when he came back as a Phillie last season. He turns 30 in April, and a return would carry real feel-good weight around a franchise that could use some.
Maybe that alone isn’t enough to justify a $100 million swing. But if the Twins need a second baseman and they’re serious about adding payroll, Arraez belongs on the list.
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