Luis Arraez suffered an damage to his left thumb whereas sliding into third base throughout a sport again on June 25, and the continuing discomfort was sufficient for Arraez to skip enjoying within the All-Star Recreation so he may give his thumb a full 4 days of relaxation over the break. Arraez revealed extra specifics concerning the damage yesterday, telling Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extrabase and different reporters that he has a torn ligament in his thumb.
The Athletic’s Dennis Lin (through X) sheds some extra gentle on the scenario, saying that Arraez was given the okay to maintain enjoying after he acquired a fuller medical examination throughout the All-Star break. As Arraez described issues final month, he feels discomfort whereas swinging and fielding, but when the damage is in the end all about ache tolerance, he desires to remain on the sphere if in any respect bodily doable.
The outcomes have been combined, since Arraez is hitting solely .280/.302/.352 in 130 plate appearances since June 25. It’s a noticeable step again from the .310/.345/.384 slash line he delivered in his first 360 PA of the season, and his general .302/.334/.375 slash line represents the bottom slugging proportion and OBP of Arraez’s six Main League seasons, in addition to the second-lowest batting common.
Arraez’s 103 wRC+ continues to be above the league common, if effectively under the 132 wRC+ he posted in 2022-23 whereas profitable consecutive batting titles in each the AL (with the Twins in 2022) and NL (with the Marlins final yr). Naturally Arraez would favor to be hitting nearer to his regular customary, but he possible feels that so long as he’s nonetheless productive on the plate, he’ll proceed to attempt to grind it out. San Diego’s playoff chase is clearly one other issue — the Padres enter immediately’s motion holding the highest wild card spot within the Nationwide League, they usually sit solely 2.5 video games behind the Dodgers for first place within the NL West.
The Friars have achieved this success regardless of lacking a number of key gamers for large chunks of the season. It stays unclear when Fernando Tatis Jr. (femoral stress response) and Yu Darvish (restricted record as a result of a private matter) will return to the energetic roster, although Joe Musgrove is anticipated to make his return from the 60-day injured record on Monday to start out in opposition to the Pirates. Arraez’s nagging thumb drawback provides to the Padres’ record of considerations, although clearly the group is attempting to handle the damage as finest as doable, as Arraez is getting an excellent chunk of time at designated hitter.