Giants Sign Luis Arraez, Harrison Bader: Fantasy Baseball Impacts

There's been a number of MLB transactions made of late, so it's time to catch up on some more notable ones. Here, we will discuss a couple signings made by the Giants.

San Francisco signed Luis Arraez and Harrison Bader over the past week. Let's break down those deals, with real world and fantasy baseball implications discussed.

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Player Contracts and Stats

Arraez signed a one-year deal worth $12 million on the last day of January. Bader signed a two-year pact worth $20.5 million on January 26.

Arraez can play first or second base, and he's an option at designated hitter as well. Bader is an outfield option for the Giants.

Arraez has been in the big leagues for seven years now, spending time with the Twins, Padres and Marlins. He has a career .317 average and .363 on-base percentage.

Arraez played in 154 games with the Padres last season, sporting a .292 average and .327 OBP. He had 181 total hits, including 30 doubles, eight homers and four triples. Arraez had 61 RBIs, 66 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, 34 walks and only 21 strikeouts.

He's a rare contact hitter in today's power-first game. Arraez is always an underrated fantasy asset, but can be a nice option, and at a couple different spots.

Bader has played nine years in the MLB, spending time with the Cardinals, Yankees, Mets, Twins, Phillies and Reds so far. He has a career .247 average and .313 OBP.

In 146 games with the Twins and Phillies last year, Bader had a .277 average and .347 OBP. He collected 124 total hits, including 24 doubles, 17 homers and a triple. Bader had 54 RBIs, 61 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, 39 walks and 136 strikeouts.

Bader is known more for his glove/defense, but he was a good fantasy asset for long stretches in 2025.

Outlook for the Players and Giants

The two signings definitely lengthens the San Francisco lineup.

Arraez is projected to hit atop of the lineup, while Bader is projected to be in the bottom third. Arraez is slated to play second base, while Bader is set to be the starting center fielder.

After Arraez, Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, Jung Hoo Lee and Heliot Ramos are projected to hit between Arraez and Bader. Bryce Eldridge and Jerar Encarnacion are in a projected platoon, while Patrick Bailey is the catcher. 

On the bench along with the platoon player is Daniel Susac, Casey Schmitt and Drew Gilbert.

Having Arraez at the top of the lineup is massive for the likes of Devers, Adames and Chapman. Those three should have plenty of RBI chances, since Arraez should be on base plenty.

It also means that Arraez has a pretty good fantasy outlook with the Giants. I'll be interested to see exactly where Arraez goes in fantasy drafts, but I doubt it'll be too crazy early to take away his fantasy upside.

I think adding Arraez to the lineup will up the fantasy outlooks for Devers, Adames and Chapman, but that probably only equates to a couple draft slots for each guy.

Lee and Ramos are helped by the addition of Bader. If Eldridge or Encarnacion win the projected platoon role, it would also help them.

Bader isn't a great hitter, but he is better than anyone the Giants had. And of course, if Arraez is excelling atop the lineup, it could help Devers, Adames and Chapman to better years. That would lead to Lee and Ramos enjoying better campaigns too.

Again though, the fantasy draft stocks for Lee and Ramos only rise a little bit with the Arraez and Bader signings. Bader is in the same boat - I'll be interested to see if he's a standard league asset, or just a deep-league guy to open the year. He could work into standard leagues if he's not in them originally though.

Eldridge and Encarnacion would only be deep-league assets if they are indeed in a platoon. Bailey doesn't have a very good fantasy asset, but he could deliver a bit more with better hitters in front and after him. Bailey is just a deep-league asset though.

Having Bader and Arraez around takes away two starting spots on a daily basis though, so the bench players might not get on the field much, unless there's injuries.

The two additions could also slow some prospects, so that's something to keep in mind in dynasty leagues when looking at San Fran hitters who are outfielders or second/first basemen.

I think these two signings are a plus for the Giants though, though the team is still a long way behind the Dodgers, and that's just in the NL West.