Luis Arraez, Pablo Lopez trade grades: Who won the Marlins and Twins trade?

Hey, look at that! A January MLB trade! And it involves … a reigning batting champ? THE HOT STOVE IS STILL ON, EVEN IF IT’S COOLED A BIT!

Yep. News broke on Friday afternoon that the Minnesota Twins were trading utility man Luis Arraez, who won the American League batting title by hitting .316.

In exchange? The Marlins sent pitcher Pablo Lopez — one of the names being thrown around this offseason as a trade target — and others to Minnesota, giving the Twins some help in their rotation.

Who won and lost this intriguing trade? We’re grading both teams to determine the answer:

The Marlins get: IF Luis Arraez

The Twins get: RHP Pablo Lopez, SS Jose Salas, OF Byron Chourio

Th

How could they trade a batting champ?

Well, when you’ve got a rotation that lacks front-end punch, a move for Lopez is a good one. Plus, Carlos Correa is back and the rest of the offense seems like it can deal with losing Arraez, even though he’s a player who is under organizational control for another three years.

I wasn’t sure Arraez would repeat what he did last season, so the bet on a young arm is one worth making. Plus, Salas is a good prospect. Bonus!

GRADE: B+

The Marlins have the pitching. We knew this. Sandy Alcantara, Jesus Luzardo, Trevor Rogers, Braxton Garrett, recent signing Johnny Cueto … the list goes on. So they could afford to deal Lopez, especially when they’re trying to improve an iffy lineup that now has Jean Segura to help.

Arraez will too. That’s pretty much it. They needed a guy who could get on base, and they found one.

All in all, a pretty even trade!

GRADE: B+