The New York Yankees followed up last year’s World Series appearance with a holistic roster overhaul, bringing in Max Fried, Paul Goldschmidt, Devin Williams and others as Juan Soto departed.
It was a reminder that the team rarely misses an opportunity to acquire new talent and that no level of success will keep the front office from adding even more marquee players. With that in mind, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report predicted that the Yankees would replace an upcoming roster loss with another high-profile addition.
“Assuming Trent Grisham walks in free agency, the Yankees will be lacking an obvious candidate to hit leadoff,” Reuter wrote. “Adding a contact-oriented hitter like Luis Arraez to an offense that ranks sixth in the majors with 1,267 strikeouts would bring some balance.”
Adding a hitter like Arraez would certainly balance the Yankees’ batting order alongside the likes of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, and he should be available as he’s set for free agency at the end of the season.
Arraez is slashing .283/.318/.386 for the San Diego Padres so far this season and he is coming off of his third consecutive batting title season. But his game has some notable gaps that might give the Yankees pause.
He is not considered to be a strong defender or baserunner, and those have been thorns in the Yankees’ side this year. But if the team is willing to overlook those issues to address another weakness – the lack of contact hitting within their boom-or-bust batting order – Arraez could be the kind of star who reinforces the Yankees roster this coming winter.
