From the start of the summer, it was evident that the New York Yankees had no plans to keep free agency second baseman Gleyber Torres. According to Torres, they never even offered him a new contract. Just two days after Christmas, the 28-year-old Venezuelan inked a one-year contract worth $15 million with the Detroit Tigers.
Despite knowing they would not be keeping Torres, the Yankees made no plans to replace him. A full week into the new year, the Yankees still have a void at second base in their lineup. The organization has reportedly scouted numerous middle infielders but has yet to make a deal, either by trade or free agent acquisition.
On Monday, however, ESPN baseball insider Jeff Passan, whose specialty is staying ahead of the Major League Baseball transaction wire, reported that the Yankees were in talks with the San Diego Padres about three-time All-Star second baseman Luis Arráez, who is also from Venezuela.
Arráez Has Thoughts About Third Trade in Three Years
Arráez played the first four seasons of his career for the Minnesota Twins, who signed him as an international free agent in 2013. Despite finishing sixth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2019, earning his first All-Star selection and the first of two Silver Slugger awards in 2022, Minnesota traded him to the Miami Marlins, who kept him until the 2024 trade deadline, when Miami traded him to the Padres for four minor league prospects.
The 27-year-old infielder committed to a one-year, $13.7 million contract with San Diego in 2025, but now faces the prospect that the Yankees, not the Padres, would keep his services for next season.
The trade rumors that would send Arráez to the Bronx heated up to the point where the X (previously Twitter) account Jomboy, which has more than 500,000 followers, uploaded an Instagram video of a fan arguing for the Bronx Bombers to trade for the Padres star. And it appears that Arráez spotted the message, since he left his own response, albeit nonverbal, on the video post.
Arráez’s whole response consisted of a smiley face emoji—and an upside-down smiley face emoji.
Arráez’s smiley face appeared to indicate that he liked the idea of being traded to the 2024 American League champions. However, the upside-down smiley face could mean — who knows? — that Arráez is conflicted about being traded for the third time in three years and playing for his fourth Major League club in his short, seven-year career.
Hitting Style May Not be Good Fit for Yankee Stadium
Because Arráez will be a free agent following the 2025 season, he may be wanting to shift teams again a year from now, which appears intimidating.
In a mathematical analysis for The Athletic, writer Chris Kirschner discovered that playing 81 games at Yankee Stadium may not be ideal for Arráez.
“Because Arraez is mostly a singles hitter, he may not be the best match for someone who plays half of his games at Yankee Stadium. According to Statcast, Yankee Stadium is the worst stadium in MLB for left-handed hitters to hit singles since there isn’t much grass in right field and the dimensions are ideal for home runs,” Kirschner noted. “Arraez could see a minor increase in power, but he is not a slugger. “He looks for singles and doubles.”
