Luis Arraez suffered an injury to his left thumb while sliding into third base during a game back on June 25, and the ongoing discomfort was enough for Arraez to skip playing in the All-Star Game so he could give his thumb a full four days of rest over the break. Arraez revealed more specifics about the injury yesterday, telling Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extrabase and other reporters that he has a torn ligament in his thumb.
The Athletic’s Dennis Lin (via X) sheds some more light on the situation, saying that Arraez was given the okay to keep playing after he received a fuller medical exam during the All-Star break. As Arraez described things last month, he feels discomfort while swinging and fielding, but if the injury is ultimately all about pain tolerance, he wants to stay on the field if at all physically possible.
The results have been mixed, since Arraez is hitting only .280/.302/.352 in 130 plate appearances since June 25. It is a noticeable step back from the .310/.345/.384 slash line he delivered in his first 360 PA of the season, and his overall .302/.334/.375 slash line represents the lowest slugging percentage and OBP of Arraez’s six Major League seasons, as well as the second-lowest batting average.
Arraez’s 103 wRC+ is still above the league average, if well below the 132 wRC+ he posted in 2022-23 while winning consecutive batting titles in both the AL (with the Twins in 2022) and NL (with the Marlins last year). Naturally Arraez would prefer to be hitting closer to his usual standard, yet he likely feels that as long as he is still productive at the plate, he’ll continue to try and grind it out. San Diego’s playoff chase is clearly another factor — the Padres enter today’s action holding the top wild card spot in the National League, and they sit only 2.5 games behind the Dodgers for first place in the NL West.
The Friars have achieved this success despite missing several key players for big chunks of the season. It remains unclear when Fernando Tatis Jr. (femoral stress reaction) and Yu Darvish (restricted list due to a personal matter) will return to the active roster, though Joe Musgrove is expected to make his return from the 60-day injured list on Monday to start against the Pirates. Arraez’s nagging thumb problem adds to the Padres’ list of concerns, though obviously the team is trying to manage the injury as best as possible, as Arraez is getting a good chunk of time at designated hitter.
I think it speaks to how good of a hitter he is when he’s clearly hurt and batting “only” .280 since he got injured.
Yeah, I would have liked to hit .280 when I was healthy!
He’s a good hitter if not very good…but bad at everything else. No D, Power or Speed. Explains his bWAR barely above replacement level player
But intangibles aren’t always factored in. The team has blossomed hitting around him. Merrill, no doubt has picked up his approach and his willingness to share/coach has played a big part in the Padres success as a whole.
The Arraez Affect is real.
He is a plus defender at 2B the last 3 seasons and exactly MLB average over his career per DRS.
Playing 1B and DH for the Padres has affected his WAR. If they had left him at his best position, 2B, it would be much higher.
The majority of runs are scored on hits. Batting average is important
Only 25 whiffs in 490 plate appearances. I know people knock his lack of power, but I would welcome a guy like Arraez in my lineup any day.
You wouldn’t want a whole lineup of hitters like him, but one or two helps immensely. I remember Polanco when he was in the Tigers lineup. He was the guy you wanted up with a runner at 3B because you knew he would put the ball in play.
So many deluded idiots living in the 1970s in these comments. Must be a day ending in Y on MLBTR.
Damn I’m impressed that can’t be comfortable but he is still trying to help the team win. Warrior stuff
No kidding.He’s a different person than Hader. lol
I agree, and it makes me wonder how many other guys having “down” years have minor injuries that they just don’t tell anyone about. I bet it’s more than we know.
“Makes me wonder..other guys having down years..don’t tell anyone about”…..Try virtually every other full time player. I cannot imagine someone playing 100+ games of MLB in 5-6+ months and not having at least some(or many)”minor injuries”. I imagine there’s not a year that goes by, that a full time baseball player(or even part-time player) cannot cite injury to explain a downturn in performance.
You’re right, Mlb. I guess I shouldn’t have written “minor.” First off, as you say, probably every player by now is nursing some kind of minor injury. Second, I don’t know that I would characterize a torn thumb ligament as “minor.” So, no, what I was thinking was a more quasi-serious injury. Now, if I could just get my brain to my fingers, that would be helpful. Of course, I’ve been typing all baseball season, so I’m typing through injury.
He is such a kind and gentle soul, but when it comes to gritting it out, Luis is as tough as they come
Sprained my left thumb about 18 months ago. It gets reinjured very easily. Even with just this level of injury, i dont think you could play effectively. Torn ligaments, i could see surgery for him after the season.
It’s all about managing pain, wraps, and treatment as long as their is no swelling.
Eventually, when the season ended he will need to undergo surgery. Wishing speedy recovery for Arraez.
Eventually meaning just after the parade through the Gaslamp
Just after the 30 days of celebrating
If the Padres bring home the “piece of metal”, I would think that parade might last a week or more. 55 years of pent up frustration let loose in one huge party
And I will be there for ALL of that party.
Cincinnati would kill to have an only .280 hitter on their pathetic team
They have one…Fraley. His Stats are actually very similar to Arraez including bWAR, OPS+ and lack of power and defense. Scarily so..LOL
Well, when you give 15 million a year for three years to a .230 lifetime hitter, fail to address your two corner outfield positions, live in hope for a bunch of guys with no track record, get rid of your hitting coach on the field, and keep playing two sub .200 hitters for extended periods, you shouldn’t be surprised when that all results in a pathetic offense.
How about the White Sox lol
Dustin Pedroia played the entire 2013 season with this injury…if they chose hof by heart he is unanimous first ballot
160 games and hit 301..baller
I read it as 2023 and I thought pedroia? Injured at his home in retirement?
Reading is hard
That injury and same season he broke his foot tried to come back way to soon with those screws in it and had to shut it down. That guy was all about gamer. Few others as tough as him, especially last few decades.
Another Sox 2b was tough was Jerry Remy. Many sox fans know his story because he was a broadcaster. After his knee was destroyed at HP, he had no lateral movement. Try playing 2b like that, which after multiple surgeries over a 3y period he was finally able to do again for 2y, just limited of course on defense. Most wouldn’t have tried, even put up with the always under the knife, but Remy did.
Whenever see lazy players dog out a groundball to 1st, or hot dog a catch. Think about the players who put everything into the game and suffered to get to where they did
Crazy that Arraez is leading the league in hits yet his OPS+ is below2 average…bWAR at 0.4 is barely above replacement player too.
Ok, ok, you have a bone to pick with Arraez.
Dodger fan?
Why doesn’t Mookie get love?
Come on man?!
Nobody is picking in the Dodgers or trying to discredit their talent.
This is just about how truly good Arraez is.
Tony Gwynn was similar. Played with a bone on bone knee injury toward the end of his career and put up amazing numbers.
Just appreciate talent.
Zero bone…but he is overrated. I would still gladly take him on the Reds though.
Overated? Or is your stat simply not a one size fits all? OPS+ and bWar are not perfect we need to stop bowing at the alters of these stats and realize that they favor certain types of players, useful stats no doubt but not perfect.
Padres have moved a decent fielding 2B (+4 DRS over last 3 seasons) to 1B and DH where WAR is affected negatively. That is not on Arraez. Padres do some strange things with moving players around the field. Preller seems to think its like roto ball.
Arraez is anything but decent defensively
He plays more at first and DH because of how bad he is at 2nd
He pointed out Arraez’s exact stats. That is better than MLB average at 2B where he has played the vast majority of his games the last 3 seasons. Reading is hard, isn’t it?
As usual, you can cherry-pick stats to drive your narrative. If you look at Fangraphs, his defense is awful.
Exactly what I was about to say, couldn’t have said it better myself
If you look at Fangraphs you will see that DRS is on there. Using OAA is cherry picking. OAA only takes into account how well a player gets to the ball in play and how strong their arm is. Its not complete because it does not take into account the rest of a player’s job on defense. DRS does. Until OAA takes into account the rest of the play,
Tom Tango and all the top analytics guys have said DRS is the only viable defensive metric, so when I want to know how a player has actually done on defense, I look at the Fielding Bible. I will continue to only use DRS. His defense is above MLB average per DRS, so his defense is above MLB average to me.
Shhhhh, they want to cherry pick OAA because it fits their narrative.
How did Arraez make the AS team? I get that he is hurt now, but at the AS break, he had a .720 OPS and is a DH/1B.
Well, maybe people vote on the eye test instead of all these stupid metrics constantly being thrown at us? Watch him hit, he is one of the best pure, bat to ball hitters In the game and an absolute joy to watch.
I don’t have to watch him hit. JBJ had one of the best swings in BB., but that didn’t mean he could hit. And these aren’t metrics. These are real live numbers. At the AS break, his projected 600 AB season would be:
186 hits
26 2Bs
3 3Bs
3 HRs
76 runs
37 RBIs
3/3 SB/CS
And that’s as mostly a DH/1B. Christian Walker’s stats were better in almost every category. You can make a case that he’s having a one-off bad year, but there is no possible way to make a case that he was better than Walker.
I mean…he got in because of reputation. His OPS was .720 in the first half which is basically league average. He was the best contact hitter in BB for 22 and 23. Not so much for 24. Still a good contact hitter but his liabilities in every other category. Guy got traded twice in the last year and a half for a reason including this year where he basically got traded for 4 magic beans that will likely never do anything MLB.
At the AS Break he had played very little DH. He had 40 games at 2B, 34 at 1B, and 8 at DH. He was hitting .310. the vast majority of fans that are voting for the AS game that was enough.
Fans are biased, man. You know already know that it’s not about the best players.
Fans are biased, man.
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But this wasn’t fan-based. I believe he was chosen. I’ll be glad to listen to an analysis of how he got chosen over Walker, but Walker had a higher OBP, 100+ points in Slugging, 118 points in overall OPS, and was a GG last year.
I’m not saying Arraez is a sucky player, but he wasn’t close to as good as Walker at the AS break.
Walker definitely should’ve made the team, but because he’s been one of the most underrated players in baseball, not a ton of people know what he does
A ton of people do know that arraez has won 2 batting titles
Arraez made the ASG as a 2B behind Ketel Marte.
He’s been such a great addition to the team. I hope the Padres extend Arraez long term.
As an arbitration guy he’s potentially hurting his future earnings by sacrificing his numbers so the team can win.
Hopefully the Padres reward the dedication.
“Potentially hurting his future earnings”..Exactly. We all know how much being on the IL boosts your “future earnings”. Ohtani seemingly played thru everything in his last year in Anaheim(as a pitcher & DH)and secured the largest contract MLB history.
@mlbfan
Ohtani hasn’t pitched. He hasn’t played the field. While he has played, “thru everything” is hardly accurate. Like Arraez making the All-Star team, much was based on past performance and expected future performance. Nothing wrong with that.
That explains a lot. He has winced in pain after swings in the few Padres games I have seen. Tough to hit with an injury like that.
Padres are rolling but the injuries are a concern. Tatis might not return until mid September. In addition to Arraez, Kim is nursing triceps tendinitis, Profar is entirely beat up with the bum knee and endless HBPs, Manny now has a wrist issue, and Cronenworth a high ankle sprain.
Tatis made the trip with the Padres and he has been taking fielding and batting practice. He will return before the end of the month. Musgrove is returning Monday.
I would love to hear a definitive date for Tatis’ return, but there hasn’t been one to my knowledge. With just 2.5 weeks remaining this month, it seems unlikely that he returns in August.
Shildt said while the team was in Pittsburgh that Tatis was participating fully in practice, running, hitting, and fielding, and that they would know more when they returned from this road trip and he was able to get imaging done.
When he returns, I wonder where Cronenworth will bat. We havent seen much of a lineup that includes Arraez, Bogey and Tatis. Maybe:
Arraez
Profar
Tatis
Machado
Bogaerts
Cronenworth/Solano (sometimes vs LHP)
Merrill
Kim
Higgs/campy
Tatis, Manny, Bogey might not hit consecutively against RHP, may have Cronenworth move up, or put Tatis at 2nd in order and move Profar to 3rd.
What a great problem to have.
I think that at this point in the season every team is beat up. How nice it must be to have a Platinum Glove RF who is also one of the best hitters on your team returning for the stretch and the playoffs.
I am sorry, but this guy is the most overrated guy in baseball. If you are going to be a single hitter. That is fine. Turn those singles into doubles with your wheels. He is a true one tool guy. Guys like Ichiro and Gywnn had other tools. I’ll take Kwan over this giy.
Kind of ridiculous to compare any player to those two first ballot HOF’ers. Both of those guys had legit power but chose not to use it for better hitting contact. Arraez doesn’t have that skillset so why fault him?
What I always hear from moaners is how much he is like those guys. Yes he doesn’t strike out much, but he he doesn’t walk. Hit with power, steal bases.
One think I have noticed. He will be finishing the season with a third team in three years.
I have never seen Arraez and those two mentioned in the same sentence.
In some fonts, an R and an N together look like an M.
So I read “Luis Arraez Playing Through Tom Thumb Ligament”.
No wonder he’s been coming up a bit short at the plate….
Luis’s second lowest BA in his career is still good enough to be leading the NL!