At some point SF Giants will be forced to choose between Casey Schmitt and Luis Arraez

It’s pretty obvious who the two best players on the SF Giants are right now. Second baseman Luis Arraez and Casey Schmitt have been the only two consistent producers on offense for San Francisco but the Giants are inevitably going to have to decide between the two of them at some point.

Unsurprisingly, they were the driving force behind San Francisco’s 3-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Monday night. Schmitt hit a solo homer and Arraez collected two hits and scored two runs so they were literally the only two Giants to cross home plate.

On the season, Schmitt is hitting .308/.359/.542 with five homers and 16 runs batted in. He’s the best hitter on the team right now and even though it may be tough to squeeze him into the lineup after Bryce Eldridge’s promotion, Buster Posey said that Schmitt will not be punished because others…cough, cough, Willy Adames and Rafael Devers…aren’t playing well.

Whether that means Schmitt moves around the infield a bit and gives some players a day off or he is at DH and the Giants use Eldridge at first base for some games remains to be seen, but the one guy who probably won’t be benched in favor of Schmitt too often is Arraez even though Schmitt is in the lineup at second base on Tuesday night while Arraez will be on the bench.

While Arraez lacks the pop that Schmitt brings to the table, he’s arguably the premier contact bat in baseball. He’s hitting .316/.340/.398 with no homers and 11 runs driven in. Also, to the shock of almost everyone, he has been one of the best defenders in baseball at second base.

The Giants won’t be able to keep Arraez, Schmitt, Matt Chapman, Adames, Devers, and Eldridge all together on the same roster forever, though. Decisions are going to have to be made at some point and it’s probably going to come down to Schmitt and Arraez.

The front office may be rethinking all of the money it has committed to Chapman, Adames, and Devers, but barring something unforeseen they’re just going to have to hope those guys get turned around.

Schmitt is a cheaper option compared to Arraez

Arraez is only under contract with San Francisco for this season after signing a one-year $12 million deal which means the Giants could try to trade him in the next few months if the team continues to look like a basement dweller in the National League. 

They could also try to sign him to a contract extension if they feel he’s a key part of the team going forward. He’s only 29 so it wouldn’t be completely insane to sign him to something like a three-year $45 million extension. Yet, with all the money the Giants already have tied up in their infield they probably don’t want to pigeon hole themselves further. 

This is why Schmitt seems like the guy they’d be more willing to commit to. He’s hot at the plate and even though he hasn’t really played at second base this season, he was the team’s primary starter there last season and was very solid defensively. 

Plus, he’s 27 and is arbitration-eligible for the next two seasons meaning he is cheaper and younger than Arraez. 

It really does seem like Schmitt is going to be the guy at second base at some point in the future. Whether it’s in a few months after the Giants trade Arraez or after this season, it just seems like the Giants will go with him because he is cheaper and arguably better overall.

That would make everything much easier in the infield. There wouldn’t be a need to cycle him around and rotate him. They could just stick him at second and hope he keeps on raking.

The Giants don’t have to make a decision on this immediately. They could wait until the deadline and see if Schmitt cools off or if an injury occurs. But at some point a decision will have to be made between Schmitt and Arraez because there is not enough room for them both long-term.

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