The Twins could use an offensive boost, and Luis Arraez may be the solution.
The Minnesota Twins still have work to do this offseason. Minnesota is looking to compete in the American League Central, but the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Guardians and Kansas City Royals all likely feature better chances of winning at the moment. Adding an offensive boost may help the Twins, and Luis Arraez could be the solution.
Arraez has been surprisingly unpopular in free agency. He rarely strikes out and is a hit machine. The problem is that Arraez does not offer much outside of his bat-to-ball skills. Despite leading the league twice in hits, high batting averages and low strikeout totals don't mean what they used to in today's game.
Twins Would Benefit from Luis Arraez Signing#
The Twins struck out the 13th most times in baseball last year. They also had the 22nd fewest hits and 22nd worst batting average in the league. Minnesota also finished 21st in on-base percentage, and Arraez has a career .363 OBP in addition to his .317 career batting average.
Meanwhile, the Twins tied for 11th in total home runs last season. The long ball is not the issue -- consistently getting on base and avoiding strikeouts are problems, though.
In that sense, Arraez is the perfect fit in Minnesota's lineup. He would instantly help the offense by giving the run producers behind him more RBI opportunities. That would lead to more total runs scored which would lead to more overall victories. And for a ball club that finished fourth in the AL Central with only 70 victories last season, that surely sounds enticing.
Defensively, Arraez is capable of playing first, second or third base. He can also be the designated hitter if necessary. In 2025, he spent most of his time at first base with the San Diego Padres, but Arraez had some DH and second base appearances as well.
Minnesota has a first baseman in Josh Bell. Luke Keaschall will likely handle second base duties. Designated hitter may be an option, though. In fact, Bell and Arraez could rotate between first base and DH if necessary.
In other words, Minnesota could make an Arraez signing make sense from a defensive standpoint. Most importantly, bringing him in would help the lineup in a pivotal manner. In today's game of home runs and strikeouts, Arraez's old-school approach at the plate is valuable despite what the underlying statistics may suggest. His approach would be especially impactful on the Twins.