The Giants have made a notable move to bolster their infield, agreeing to a one-year, $12 million deal with Luis Arraez, pending a physical. The 28-year-old infielder, who spent last season with the Padres, is expected to take over at second base - a position he reportedly prioritized in free agency. Arraez is represented by MVP Sports Group.
This isn’t just a short-term patch for San Francisco - it’s a calculated addition of a high-contact bat to complement a lineup that leans heavily on power. Arraez turned down multi-year offers elsewhere to secure a starting second base role, and now he gets that opportunity with a Giants club that’s clearly in win-now mode. The deal lines up with the two-year, $24 million projection many had for him this offseason, but Arraez opted for flexibility, with a chance to re-enter free agency after 2026.
With Arraez on board, the Giants’ payroll for 2026 climbs to $206 million, per RosterResource - nearly $30 million more than last season. Their competitive balance tax (CBT) figure sits at $232.7 million, leaving around $11.3 million in breathing room before they hit the first luxury tax threshold. This marks the second major signing of the week for the Giants, who also inked outfielder Harrison Bader to a two-year, $20.5 million deal.
Arraez brings something this Giants infield has been missing: elite bat-to-ball skills. While guys like Matt Chapman and Willy Adames combined for 51 home runs last year, and Rafael Devers added 20 in just 90 games, that trio also brings a fair amount of swing-and-miss to the table.
Arraez, on the other hand, is a throwback hitter - a pure contact guy who rarely strikes out and sprays the ball to all fields. He won’t light up exit velocity leaderboards, but he gives opposing pitchers a completely different look - and that kind of diversity in approach can make a lineup much tougher to navigate.
Still, by Arraez’s standards, last season was a bit of a down year. He hit .292 in his only full season with San Diego - a number most hitters would be thrilled with, but the lowest mark of his career.
His .289 BABIP suggests a little bad luck, but there were also signs of regression in his batted-ball profile. Arraez posted a career-low 16.7% hard-hit rate - the lowest among all qualified hitters - and his average bat speed was roughly 9 mph below league average.
That’s not ideal, especially when you’re already not generating much lift or power.
Yet, despite the soft contact, Arraez still managed to square up the ball at an impressive 42.6% clip. That speaks to his elite hand-eye coordination and ability to find the barrel, even if the results weren’t quite as loud. He’s not going to slug .500, but he’s going to put the ball in play, and in a game increasingly dominated by strikeouts, that still has real value.
Defensively, though, there are questions - and they’re not small ones. Arraez has struggled in the field the past two seasons, combining for -26 Outs Above Average between 2023 and 2024.
He was Miami’s primary second baseman in 2023, but after being traded to San Diego last May, he spent most of his time at first base. He posted -9 OAA at first, though Defensive Runs Saved was a bit more forgiving, grading him at +3.
Now, he’ll be asked to return to second base and line up next to Rafael Devers, who’s also had his share of defensive issues in recent years. And with top prospect Bryce Eldridge looming - another bat-first player with defensive concerns - the Giants are clearly prioritizing offense, even if it comes at the cost of infield range.
Arraez’s arrival could also signal the end of San Francisco’s pursuit of a second baseman via trade. The Giants had been connected to Brendan Donovan and Nico Hoerner in recent weeks, but with Arraez now in the fold, those talks may cool off.
The need for an upgrade at second was real. Giants second basemen ranked 26th in OPS last season, with Tyler Fitzgerald, Casey Schmitt, and Christian Koss handling most of the work.
Of that group, only Schmitt is likely to factor into the 2026 roster - assuming he’s fully recovered from offseason wrist surgery. Even then, his offensive production has been modest, and his best path forward might be as a utility man.
He could see time at second against lefties, but his .674 career OPS vs. southpaws is nearly identical to Arraez’s .673, so there’s not a clear platoon advantage there.
Bottom line: the Giants are betting on Arraez to be the steadying presence in a lineup full of power and volatility. He may not hit the ball hard, and his defense is far from gold-glove caliber, but his elite contact skills and disciplined approach offer a different kind of value - one that could prove crucial in the grind of a 162-game season.