SF Giants should snap up three-time batting title champ no one is talking about

No official decision is impending on whether uber-prospect Bryce Eldridge will start next year in the majors or minors on Opening Day, and the SF Giants may wait until close to the end of spring training to make a firm determination.

If his brief debut last September was any indication, though, it may be in Eldridge’s best interest to gain a little more experience playing every day at the Triple-A level first. If the front office is at all worried that they can’t count on him for big-league reps in April and May, they should look to make an external addition to share time at first base and DH with Rafael Devers.

A reunion with any of Dominic Smith, Wilmer Flores or Donovan Solano could make some sense as a short-term placeholder, but why not think a little bit bigger? Not a lot bigger, mind you – having high expectations as a fan of this organization will only set you up for disappointment.

The top of the market at first base featured names like Pete Alonso, Josh Naylor and Cody Bellinger, two of whom have already signed and the latter of which is reportedly seeking $400 million. The Giants never really needed to shop in that aisle for first base help this offseason, anyway, unless they had planned on dealing away Eldridge in a separate deal.

Luis Arráez could be a great addition to the SF Giants' infield mix

So, who’s a little more exciting than Smith, Flores or Solano without being a lot more expensive? Enter contact-hitting extraordinaire, Luis Arráez. Arráez won three consecutive batting titles with three different teams between 2022-24, and didn’t fall off too hard in that category with a .292 mark last season.

He also practically never strikes out, with just 21 punch-outs in 154 games last season, and he famously had 141 consecutive plate appearances not end in a strikeout back in September 2024. That kind of rarified skillset would be a welcome addition to a team like the Giants, who hope to have a bit more contact-oriented of an approach next year.

There’s plenty of reasons that Arraez hasn’t gotten a whole lot of buzz on the market this offseason, and it boils down to putting the ball in play being the only thing Arraez isn’t below-average at. It’s not a simple feat to hit .292 in 154 games and only be worth 1.2 WAR, but Arraez managed just that.

Though his 3.1 K% was literally in the 100th percentile, his puny 5.0 BB% was only in the 10th percentile. His barrel rate, hard-hit percentage and bat speed were all only in the 1st percentile, and as a refresher for what that means, 99% of other batters fared better in those categories. He’s also a slow baserunner and a poor fielder. What’s not to like, right?

The Giants wouldn’t need for Arraez to be Tony Gwynn, though. He could spell Devers at first base a couple times a week, soak up a few DH AB’s, and even back up Casey Schmitt and Christian Koss every once in a while at second base – though, for the sake of our eyes, hopefully not very often. The Giants could do a lot worse than committing semi-regular playing time to a guy with three batting titles on his resume. All it would cost is an inexpensive, short-term deal where they wouldn’t need to sacrifice prospects like they would have had to for Brandon Lowe or Brendan Donovan.

An infield consisting of Devers, Arráez, Schmitt, Chapman, Adames and Koss would have plenty of upside and allow Eldridge all the time he needs to mature into the crusher of baseballs that this team desperately needs him to become. The outfield would still be a hot mess, of course, but money would theoretically still be in the coffers to address that issue – plus the pitching staff – after bringing Arráez into the fold. The Giants might get nothing but coal in their stocking this year, but if they wish hard enough, they just might come away with a factory-sealed Luis Arráez.