Fire sale commences? Marlins pull Arraez from lineup before game in Oakland, set on shipping batting champ to Padres
By JANIE McCAULEY (AP Baseball Writer)
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Miami Marlins are working on a trade that would send second baseman and reigning NL batting champion Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres.
The Marlins said Friday that the deal was pending a review of medical information before it could be finalized and formally announced.
“When a guy like that is taken out of the lineup or potentially traded, you feel it, because he’s such a good kid and one of the leaders in that clubhouse,” manager Skip Schumaker said, “so there’s definitely a shock value.”
There was also some shock in the Padres’ clubhouse after their 7-1 victory over the Diamondbacks on Friday night, though it was for happier reasons.
“It’s really amazing — that guy is a baller,” San Diego slugger Fernando Tatis Jr. said about Arraez. “He’s probably the closest to Tony Gwynn right now, so looking forward to seeing him in our lineup. … The guy’s a pure hitter and I can’t wait for him to help us.”
Gwynn won eight batting titles for the Padres during his Hall of Fame career from 1982 to 2001.
Miami changed its lineup minutes before first pitch in Oakland, pulling the 27-year-old Arraez out of the leadoff spot.
Instead, he made his way through the visitor’s dugout at the Coliseum shaking hands and offering hugs and goodbyes with his now-former teammates, coaches and staff.
“Great teammate,” Schumaker said. “So of course, yeah, I think that it’s human nature that there’s an initial shock value when it happens. Again, nothing’s official, but when he gets pulled out of the lineup these guys aren’t dumb, they know what’s going on. I think that the initial shock factor is definitely real and hopefully it goes away in a couple days or tomorrow or whatever it is because we know it’s a business and you’re paid here to come here and win games and be professional.”
Arraez — who was gone by the end of Miami’s 3-1 loss and his locker empty — should provide an instant spark to the Padres’ lineup. San Diego trails the first-place Dodgers in the talented NL West.
Arraez was hitting .299 with five RBIs and had scored 22 runs with a .347 on-base percentage over 16 games during Miami’s 9-24 start. A two-time All-Star, he also won an AL batting title for the Minnesota Twins in 2022 before they traded him to Miami for Pablo Lopez in January 2023.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay appreciated the heads up from Schumaker before the game.
“It can be disruptive, but I think Skip handled it very, very well,” Kotsay said. “He’s been in the game a long time. Delivering those messages is never easy, but it was nice to see his teammates get a chance to say what they needed to. In terms of preparation, we’re all professional here. Those things happen. I’m sure it didn’t distract them from the game.”
The Marlins were reportedly expected to receive four players: reliever Woo-Suk Go and prospects Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee, and Nathan Martorella.
Martorella was playing in a Double-A game for San Antonio and at second base when he was traded and removed from the game, confused initially before saying his goodbyes.
ESPN first reported the trade Friday.
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AP Baseball Writer David Brandt in Phoenix contributed to this report.
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