Luis Arraez had surgical procedure at the moment to restore a torn ligament in his thumb. The three-time All-Star introduced the information himself on X, whereas Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase added that the Padres count on to have him again at full well being in time for spring coaching.
Arraez had been taking part in by way of the ache since mid-June, when he tore a ligament in his left thumb on a slide into third base. He sat out the All-Star Recreation to relaxation the injured digit however in any other case performed in 70 of the Padres’ last 78 video games and all seven of their postseason contests. Nevertheless, he knew surgical procedure could be obligatory if he was going to make a correct restoration, and as soon as the Padres had been eradicated from the playoffs, he went beneath the knife.
With an NL-best .314 batting common, Arraez claimed his third consecutive batting title this season, however his total numbers weren’t practically as spectacular as they’ve been within the current previous. After placing up an .829 OPS and 130 wRC+ from 2022 to ’23, Arraez produced a .739 OPS and 109 wRC+ in 2024. These are nonetheless above-average numbers, however that degree of offense isn’t nice coming from a poor defensive first baseman/horrible defensive second baseman. And sadly, Arraez can’t blame all of his struggles on his thumb; he hit .310 with a 106 wRC+ earlier than the damage and .319 with a 113 wRC+ after. On the similar time, that’s to not say the torn ligament didn’t have any impact. His Statcast anticipated wOBA on contact fell from .335 earlier than the damage to .312 afterward. It’s attainable the ache from the damage prevented him from hitting the ball fairly as laborious.
Regardless of his down 12 months, Arraez must be one of many highest-paid arbitration-eligible gamers subsequent season, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a $14.6MM wage for the infielder in 2025. It’s his last 12 months of crew management, so he’ll look to get again to full energy and carry out extra like his 2022-23 self, both to earn a much bigger contract in free company or an extension from San Diego. The Padres will hope for a similar, since the most effective model of Arraez may be a wonderful table-setter atop the lineup in entrance of hitters like Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and Jackson Merrill.
