Batting champion Arraez wants to play with Padres ‘for a long time’

Three-time batting champion Luis Arraez enjoyed his first season with the San Diego Padres so much that he would like to continue his career with the franchise.

“I don’t want to think about a trade. I just want to play for the San Diego Padres next year,” Arraez said after the Padres’ season-ending loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, per 97.3’s Annie . Heilbrunn.

“I want to stay here. But everyone knows this is business. I understand business, but I want to stay here for a long time.”

Arraez became a fixture in the Padres’ lineup after they acquired him from the Miami Marlins in May. The 27-year-old slashed .318/.346/.398 en route to his third consecutive hitting title. He has drawn comparisons to Padres legend Tony Gwynn in the process.

“It’s a little unfair that (Arraez) gets that comparison, but I’ll say he’s his own thing,” Tony Gwynn Jr. said. about Arraez during a Baseball on Fanatics View interview last July.

“For the first five years of his career, his numbers look very similar. … I think he’s earned the right to have that comparison.”

Arraez made $10.6 million this season and is arbitration eligible in 2025. He becomes a free agent in 2026.