Luis Arraez needs to turn things around before the Philadelphia Phillies start playing October baseball.
The Philadelphia Phillies desperately needed another bat at the MLB trade deadline, so they went out and acquired arguably the best one available: Luis Arraez.
There is no doubt it was a tremendous deal for the Phillies. Arraez is a three-time batting champion and is challenging for a fourth this season. But suddenly, the second baseman has become mired in a brutal slump.
Arraez has just four hits over his last 24 plate appearances and is now slashing .284/.293/.400 since arriving in Philadelphia. The lefty hitter has never been one to walk, but the fact that he has walked just twice since being traded is alarming.
Arraez has had just one extra-base hit since Aug. 17, and he actually went 0-for-5 a couple of nights ago.
Now, chances are, this is just a little slump for the 29-year-old. Arraez has long been one of the best contact hitters in all of baseball, so it seems doubtful that he has begun declining this quickly.
Plus, the Phillies have been winning in spite of Arraez's lack of recent production, so it hasn't hurt the team all that much.
But Philadelphia also can't keep expecting consistent big hits out of names like Bryan De La Cruz and Edmundo Sosa come playoff time. It will absolutely need Arraez to be one of its top dogs, and right now, the All-Star is headed in the opposite direction.
Again, I think Arraez will be fine. He's too good of a hitter to let this rut affect him long term. But we also cannot ignore that it's happening.
The problem with Arraez (and one of the biggest why he just can't seem to land a lucrative multi-year contract) is that he doesn't impact the game all that much when he isn't putting the bat on the ball.
He owns a lifetime 6.3 percent walk rate, and his lack of power makes him much less of a threat to opposing pitchers than, say, Kyle Schwarber or Bryce Harper.
Arraez is a great table-setter, but only because of his ability to make consistent contact; not because of his ability to get on base no matter what.
No, the Venezuelan native doesn't strike out, but he also doesn't have the most patience at the plate. So it's kind of a weird dichotomy.
Basically, Arraez needs to start making better contact in the final weeks of the regular season. My guess is he will do that.
If he doesn't, though, the Phillies could be in some pretty serious trouble.
