Miami Marlins pitcher Pablo Lopez (27), who was considered a trade partner for Kim Ha-seong (28, San Diego Padres), was traded to the Minnesota Twins. Miami received American League (AL) batting champion infielder Luis Araez (26) last year.
On the 21st (hereinafter Korean time), Miami sent minor league infielder Jose Salas (20) and outfielder Byron Churio (18) to Minnesota along with starting pitcher Lorez, who recorded 10 wins last year, and traded to receive Araez, the AL batting king last year. carried out It is the first time since Rod Currie that the No. 1 hitter in batting average has been traded in the offseason. After leading the AL batting average (.333) in Minnesota in 1978, Curyu was traded to the California Angels in February of the following year. After 44 years, the active hitting king trade came from Minnesota.
Miami, which has abundant starting pitcher resources, put Lopez on the trade market early, with two years remaining until free agency. As San Diego became known to be interested in Lopez, infielder Kim Ha-seong was constantly mentioned in the local media as a trade card.
However, Miami recruited Araez, not Kim Ha-seong. Araez, who has three years left until free agency, can spend one year longer than Kim Ha-seong, who has two years left, excluding mutual options. As a player who specializes in hitting, he is more suitable for Miami, which needs reinforcement of offense. Miami plans to use Araez at second base. The former main second baseman, All-Star Jazz Chizom Jr., is moved to center fielder.
Araez, a right-handed left-handed infielder from Venezuela, recorded a batting average of 3.14, 444 hits, 14 homers, 132 RBIs, and an OPS of .784 in 슬롯사이트 389 games over the past four years since his major league debut in 2019. In particular, in 144 games last year, he recorded a batting average of 3.16, 8 homers, 49 RBIs, and an OPS of .785, leading the AL in batting average and preventing Aaron Judge (New York Yankees, .311) from winning three batting titles.
Why did Minnesota give up Araez, who is relatively young and has three more seasons left until free agency? According to The Athletic, Minnesota was concerned about the durability of Araez, who had been plagued by injuries throughout his career, with infield prospects such as Brooks Lee, Royce Lewis, Austin Martin and Eduard Julien imminent to make major league debuts.
Araez also suffered from a hamstring injury last year, and his OPS fell from .856 in the first half to .715 in the second half. In 2021, he injured his shoulder and knee and missed 41 games, and also in the 2020 corona-shortened season, he injured his knee and missed 28 games. In 2017, when he was in the minors, he was out of the season after three games due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.
His use of defense was also limited due to injury problems. He played only 48 of 144 games last year at second base (41 games) and third base (7 games). He appeared in 65 games, the most as a first baseman. The Athletic explained, “Araez adapted well to first base and became a finalist for the Gold Glove, but Minnesota was concerned about whether Araez could survive at first base for a long time due to his small height of 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm).”
Minnesota President Derek Falvey said, “We have to give up what Lopez is to have as much impact on our team as he brings to our team.” “Miami has a lot of young (Latin American) players from Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, like me,” Araez said. I want to give a lot of energy to my teammates, coaching staff and fans in Miami. I go there to win more,” he promised