Phillies sorely missed Luis Arraez in Wild Card loss, but don't expect SF Giants reunion

The Philadelphia Phillies were eliminated from the playoffs on Thursday night by the Atlanta Braves, the team we all must cheer for now since they will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. Philadelphia clearly missed former SF Giants second baseman Luis Arraez in the series who is set to be a free agent in the offseason, but a reunion with San Francisco seems unlikely.

Arraez quickly endeared himself to Giants fans this season with his antics at the plate, his ability to poke just about any pitch into the outfield for a single, and his surprisingly elite defense at second. It’s unfortunate he was on such a bad Giants team because under different circumstances he definitely seemed like a guy who could’ve stuck around for a few years.

Instead, San Francisco traded him and reliever Caleb Kilian to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for pitchers Ramon Marquez and Marty Gair. Arraez’s numbers were not as good with Philadelphia despite a hot start and he finished the year hitting .310/.345/.419 with six homers and 64 runs batted in across 151 games. 

Arraez injured his ankle at the end of the regular season which may have robbed him of a chance to win his fourth career batting title as Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno edged him out with a .311 batting average.

More importantly for the Phillies, Arraez was unable to play in the Wild Card series. It was a tight series that went all three games and just a few key hits might have made the difference. 

Giants seem likely to go with internal options at second base

Now Arraez will hit free agency again, likely looking to improve upon the one-year, $13 million deal he signed with San Francisco last offseason. The main reason he signed with the Giants is because they were willing to let him play second base and he proved that he can be one of the best at that position when given a chance.

Going into 2027, the Giants would probably have Casey Schmitt as their primary second baseman but there’s a chance they decide to trade Schmitt in order to add pitching this upcoming offseason. If that happened it could open the door to a reunion with Arraez, but with so much money already committed to the infield San Francisco would probably just roll with a cheaper option on the roster like Marcelo Mayer.

Arraez deserves a multi-year deal and he deserves to play second base so one hopes he gets paid what he deserves after a great year. Just please don’t sign with the Dodgers, Luis. Pretty please? 

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