The Tampa Bay Rays are reportedly the frontrunner to acquire San Francisco Giants second baseman Luis Arraez before the 2026 trade deadline tomorrow, August 3. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic stated on August 1st that Tampa Bay was the only team interested in the second baseman.

“Some team will find a place for Arraez, who entered today batting .328 with an .811 OPS, his highest figures since 2023. But outside of the Rays, it’s difficult to imagine which club that might be,” they wrote.

However, Tampa Bay’s reported interest in him is dumbfounding, as they are already strong in the elite trait he possesses. Luis Arraez is primarily known throughout his career as a contact hitter. Since debuting in the major leagues in 2019, Luis Arraez has put 3,477 pitches in play, the second most in the majors. 33.5% of those baseballs in play have been hit. 

Since 2019, he has accumulated the 4th-most hits in the major leagues, with a total of 1164.

77.9% of his hits have been singles, accumulating 907 since 2019. Outside of hitting singles, Luis Arraez ranks as a below-average hitter in multiple offensive categories.

He ranks 94th in extra-base hits, accumulating 257 since 2019. He also ranks 445th in on-base percentage, getting on base 33.7% of the time.

Conveniently, the Tampa Bay Rays have been in the top ten of both those categories over the first 100 games of 2026. Tampa Bay ranks eighth in balls in play and hits, accumulating 2,923 and 941, respectively.

Consequently, it would be a better use of their resources if Tampa Bay focused on improving its weakest areas. The Tampa Bay Rays are currently in the bottom five in infield and outfield defense. Over the first 100 games, the infield has accumulated (-28) outs above average and(-22) runs prevented.

These statistics have the team ranked last infield defense. Consequently, they should attempt to make a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. Starting shortstop Andrés Giménez has been the best fielder since 2020. He has accumulated 83 outs above average and 62 runs prevented.

Furthermore, he has played three different infield positions during his career: second base, shortstop, and third base. This flexibility allows him to help the Tampa Bay Rays in multiple areas if needed.

The counterpoint to this argument is that Luis Arraez has been one of the best infield defenders in 2026. He currently ranks fifth among infielders in outs above average and runs prevented, with 11 and 8, respectively.

However, when you look at his entire major league career, Luis Arraez has been one of the worst infield defenders. That broader view matters, since he ranks 149th out of 154 qualifying fielders in both categories since 2019.

He has accumulated (-46) outs above average and (-34) runs prevented. Because of this, I put more weight on his career statistics than on one season.