Surprise team nearly swooped in and stole Luis Arraez from Padres

On Friday, the first major trade of the 2024 season took place. The San Diego Padres traded for Miami Marlins second baseman and reigning National League batting champion Luis Arraez. Miami received reliever Woo-Suk Go and prospects Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee, and Nathan Martorella in exchange.

The Marlins made it clear that they have given up on 2024, while the Padres appear to be all in. However, the Padres were not the only team that had shown interest in Arraez.

According to Ken Rosenthal ($), the Kansas City Royals were another team that had shown interest in potentially making a trade for Arraez.

"At least one other team, the Kansas City Royals, was in contact with the Marlins about Arraez last week, according to major-league sources who were granted anonymity for their candor," writes Rosenthal. "Those talks, however, never advanced beyond the preliminary stage. The Padres’ pursuit of Arraez dated to the offseason (the Seattle Mariners also restated their longstanding interest then). In the end, Bendix determined he could not “walk past” the San Diego offer."

Royals showed interest in Arraez before trade

The Royals appear to be a team in transition, and for the better too. After losing 106 games last year, they own a record of 20-15 and are only 2.5 games back of first place.

Based on the news that they were in on Arraez, it appears that the Royals are now setting lofty goals and trying to win. Kansas City has not finished .500 or better since 2016. But it seems as though things are changing in Kansas City. While they didn't land Arraez, they could potentially look for other impact bats that would help them contend for an AL Central title.

For now, the Royals appear to be set on Michael Massey at second base, who is off to a strong start in 2024 since returning from a lower back strain. Trading for Arraez would have likely cost them some significant prospects, possibly even somebody like Massey.

This current Royals team looks much better than it did last season, and the goals may have in fact changed for the organization. It will certainly be interesting to see if they can remain in contention and what they might choose to do at the trade deadline, when more bats and arms become available.