San Diego Padres infielder Luis Arraez will not be playing in Tuesday's MLB All-Star Game despite ranking fifth in Major League Baseball in batting average and second in hits. Arraez cites his thumb injury as the reason for missing the game.
“I need the rest,” Arraez said, according to ESPN.
Arraez first exhibited issues with his thumb during San Diego's game against Kansas City on June 2. Since the injury, he has hit .258, bringing his season batting average down to .310. Despite the recent struggles, he is still in a great position to be the first Padre to win a batting title since Tony Gwynn in 1997. He currently sits in third place in the National League batting average ranks, behind Milwaukee's Christian Yelich and Los Angeles' Shohei Ohtani.
This year marks the third consecutive MLB All-Star game nod for Arraez with his third different team, Minnesota in 2022 and Miami in 2023. The Marlins traded Arraez to San Diego in May in exchange for four prospects. Arraez says he will travel to Arlington to be a part of the festivities but will not participate in the game.
Luis Arraez's injury leaves a spot open on the bench for the National League All-Star squad ahead of Tuesday night's game. There is no word yet on who manager Tony Lovollo will pick for that spot.
The Padres enter the second half just one game back of the final National League Wild Card spot after losing six of the last seven games. In that stretch, they lost two out of three games to both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Atlanta Braves, who are both in the thick of the race as well.
Impact on Padres' second half
Padres manager Mike Schildt told MLB.com that he did not think a stint on the injured list was “necessary” for Arraez despite missing the final game of the Braves series on Sunday. Arraez will be available for their first series back from the break in Cleveland, which begins on Friday. The road trip wraps up with three games against Washington and Baltimore before the Padres come back home.
With two interleague matchups and one against the Nationals, who are well out of the Wild Card race, the emphasis on Arraez's health comes in August. The Padres play the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets, and St. Louis Cardinals in August, all teams in the thick of a very deep race. The Padres will need Arraez, and all of their star players, healthy for that stretch.
For the Padres to make the playoffs this season, Arraez not only has to be in the lineup but hitting like he has the last two seasons. His incredibly high average is why San Diego traded for him back in May and for the first month he was with the Padres, he lived up to that billing. In May, Arraez hit .389, mostly with the Padres. When the second half of the season begins on Friday, the Padres will be looking for Arraez to get back to that batting-title level of play as they make a run for the playoffs.
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