In one of the most intriguing deals of the 2023 Major League Baseball postseason on Friday, the Minnesota Twins traded second baseman Luis Arraez to the Miami Marlins for pitcher Pablo Lopez, and prospects Jose Salas and Byron Chourio. In most MLB deals, one team significantly gets better than the other. However, in this offseason blockbuster, both teams tried to address specific short term needs, and this is why this deal is the most intriguing.
Luis Arraez’s breakout 2022 season
Arraez of San Felipe, Venezuela had an outstanding 2022 MLB regular season. In batting .316, he was the American League batting champion. Arraez, who was also an American League All-Star for the first time, had eight home runs and 49 runs batted in. During 144 games, 603 plate appearances and 547 at bats, he scored 88 runs, and had 173 hits, 31 doubles, one triple, four stolen bases, 50 walks, 230 total bases, and three sacrifice flies. Arraez was also hit by a pitch thrice, and had a slugging percentage of .420 and an on base percentage of .375. Arraez’s triple came in a 6-0 Twins shutout win over the Cleveland Guardians on June 28, in the second game of a doubleheader.
Even though Arraez led the American League in batting average in 2022, his .316 batting average was not a career high. In 2019, he batted .334 during his rookie season in Minnesota. In 2022, Arraez had career-highs in runs, doubles, home runs, runs batted in, stolen bases, walks, and total bases.
Pablo Lopez’s 2022 season
Like Arraez, Lopez has spent his entire MLB with one team. He first joined the Marlins in 2018. In 2022, Lopez had a record of 10 wins and 10 losses, with an earned run average of 3.75. In 180 innings pitched and 32 games pithed the native of Cabimas, Venezuela, gave up 157 hits, 75 earned runs, 21 home runs, and 53 walks, to go along with 174 strikeouts and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.17.
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