Luis Arraez (1) playing second base during a spring training game between the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
San Francisco Giants’ Luis Arraez, left, and manager Tony Vitello, middle, watch from the dugout during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees in San Francisco, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Jeff Chiu/Associated Press
Luis Arraez (1) fields a ground ball during San Francisco Giants spring training practice at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
Luis Arráez returns to San Diego this week — where he could have stayed rather than jumping to the San Francisco Giants. The Padres talked to Arráez about re-upping, they liked him in their lineup a lot.
“You could see the minute he got to our team, he kind of jump-started our group,” Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller said. “Putting the ball in play, being a tough out, he’s obviously one of the best hitters in baseball. I think Luis changed our team in 2024, both with his skill set and then his demeanor and personality between the lines.
“I think the world of him, I talked to him a lot this offseason, and when he signed with the Giants, I said, ‘Look, you were here two years, we went to the playoffs both years,’ and he’s been to the playoffs now in Minnesota, Miami and San Diego. I don’t think it’s a coincidence. I think it’s because of what he brings every day, in the batter’s box and in the clubhouse.”
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The questions about Arráez have never been about his hitting, it’s his defense that raises concerns. He feels strongly that second base is his best spot, enough so that he signed a one-year deal with the Giants rather than a multi-year deal elsewhere. Everyone else, including San Diego, wanted Arráez to play first and DH.
Arráez has three of San Francisco’s 13 hits through the first three games, and his defense is coming along. He said he feels great there, and he made all the plays in the first series; in the opener, he played particularly well at second. Infield coach Ron Washington continues to be complimentary about Arráez’s work.
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“I think he’s coming along just on schedule,” Washington said. “The competition is a little different during the season than it is in spring training, and he also has to deal with positioning. Once we get all of this straightened out, I think he’s going to be tremendous.
“This is a new process, he has to learn. But Luis is very intelligent, he’s very attentive and he’s working hard. He’s getting better and better, and he’s nice to work with because he wants it.”
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Arráez starred at the plate from the start as a child. When he was 8, his parents — Ernesto and Maria — put him in a youth league in Venezuela and he batted over .800.
By the time Arráez was 13, he was convinced he would make it to the big leagues and he signed with the Twins as a 16-year-old, though Minnesota’s scout had to make some extra effort track him down — when the scout arrived with a $40,000 contract, Arráez was out throwing rocks at iguanas with his brother. From there, Arráez lucked out, finding a mentor and advocate in Ramon Borrego. Now Minnesota’s third base coach, Borrego is from Venezuela and he took Arráez, then a shortstop, under his wing while managing in the lower levels of the minors.
The first thing Borrego remembered hearing about Arráez was that he “needed a lot of work on defense, but he can hit,” Borrego said. “He was skinny and small, but he’d stop by my office all the time and ask me what he could do to get better.”
One thing Borrego emphasized was the need to speak English well in order to have one less thing to worry about and for better communication with teammates. Arráez took that to heart, taking classes, watching Netflix shows in English, and, Arráez said, especially listening to Rihanna and Drake and learning what the lyrics meant. Video games, too, such as “Call of Duty,” helped.
Borrego championed Arráez, recommending his quick promotion from the Dominican Summer League to rookie league and Arráez flew through the system, one level per year, hitting up a storm.
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“Luis would tell me, ‘I’m going to take two strikes and hit a line drive up the middle,’ and that’s what he’d do, bam!” Borrego said. “It was unbelievable, it could be 100 mph, thrown inside, thrown outside, low, high. He made it look easy.”
The Twins remained unconvinced about Arráez’s defense, but he’d moved to second and was picking up the footwork. Borrego worked to get him an invitation to the fall instructional leagues after the 2018 season, telling the development staff that Arráez was the best player on his Class A Ft. Myers team. “I told them, ‘This is a great hitter,’” Borrego said. “I pushed so hard for the kid, and they finally called and said he had a spot.”
That allowed Arráez to get in even more work on the defensive side, plus he hit over .350. Arráez, never lacking in confidence, told Borrego when he moved up from Double-A to Triple-A that he should be going straight to the big leagues. He wasn’t wrong: The Twins called him up after he’d played just 16 games at Triple-A in 2019. He hit .334 in 92 games with Minnesota that year, and he has won three batting titles since.
Borrego still follows everything Arráez does. As soon as a Twins game ended, he would check to see how Arráez had done. “This kid is like my son,” Borrego said. “He’s someone who’s come from nothing, no one gave him anything, but he has a gift and he was hungry and had a passion. I’m so proud of him, he had to climb a big mountain to open doors.
“He’s so happy now, because the Giants told him he was going to play second base every day. He needs to be moving all the time, so playing second base is so much better for him, and I think he’ll be really good there, make all the plays.”
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“I’m 28, I’m young, my body feels good,” Arráez said. “I can play second.”
Arráez’s rep as a poor defender — he was third from the bottom in FanGraphs’ second-base overall defensive metrics two years ago, second worst the year before that — means that manager Tony Vitello already is fielding questions about Arráez ’s position. One game into the regular season, VItello was asked why, if Casey Schmitt and Arráez are both in the lineup, Schmitt isn’t at second and Arráez at first when Schmitt is the better second baseman.
“Arráez is about as quick as anybody to do whatever you ask of him,” Vitello said. “He fully knows at some point this year he’ll be called upon to play first base, yeah, but for now, we’re rocking and rolling. What we see is the best for today.”
Arráez heads back to San Diego with only good memories, saying the fans treated him well and he made many close friends, especially Xander Bogaerts. Still, that wasn’t quite enough to go back there. But after moving from Minnesota to Miami to San Diego and finally San Francisco, he’s getting to be a pro at seamless transitions, but he’d really like to find a home.
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“It’s not easy to play with a new team every year or every other year,” Arráez said. “I hope somebody gives me a lot of years and I can stay.”