Luis Arraez exits game with lower body cramps

Arraez is at second base and hitting cleanup after missing Sunday’s series finale against the Cardinals with a lower-body issue. The contact-oriented 29-year-old is batting .311 (23-for-74) with two homers and 11 RBI in 18 games since coming over from the Giants at the trade deadline.

The 29-year-old infielder was removed from Saturday’s game after three innings due to lower body cramps. It doesn’t sound like anything that should require a trip to the injured list, but the Phillies will give him an extra day to get right. Bryson Stott will slide over and cover second base while Edmundo Sosa starts at third base and will bat eighth for the Phillies against Kyle Leahy and the Cardinals.

Arraez’s homer was a two-run shot off Sandy Alcantara in the bottom of the third. It was his second round-tripper with his new team. The lefty-hitting infielder has started at second base and hit cleanup in all 15 games since the Phillies acquired him before the trade deadline.

None of his three singles produced a run and Arraez was left stranded each time that he reached base. The three-time batting champion is having another outstanding season in the category, slashing .316/.350/.434 with five homers and 49 RBI in 511 plate appearances between the Giants and Phillies.

The Phillies’ new cleanup hitter opened the scoring in the ballgame with an RBI double off of Miles Mikolas in the home half of the first inning. He was then cut down at the plate trying to score on Alec Bohm’s RBI double. Arraez also singled in the seventh inning. For the season, he’s slashing an impressive .326/.361/.450 with five homers and 47 RBI on the season.

Arraez’ home run was his fifth of the season. He hit a solo shot off Jake Irvin in the second inning. Arraez now has three RBI in his first two games with the Phillies.

Perfect. This is what cleanup Arraez was always supposed to do and always why Arraez was also supposed to bat cleanup. He’s not an OBP guy while hitting singles or doubles every third at-bat. He’s an RBI guy.

The Phillies are facing a lefty opener tonight, but the lineup looks more like it would against a righty, with Brandon Marsh, Bryson Stott and Justin Crawford all included. Arraez is more used to hitting first or second than cleanup, but no one is better equipped to single in a guy from second base. The Phillies are keeping Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner at the top for now.

The Phillies will be mixing things all up to accommodate Arraez, with Bryson Stott moving to third, Alec Bohm going to first and Bryce Harper returning to the outfield for the first time since elbow surgery. It’s probably worth it to add Arraez to the lineup, though it would have been cheaper in prospect cost just to add an outfielder and keep the infield as it was. Arraez, a free agent at season’s end, should get a little value boost in Philly, though the ballpark upgrade probably doesn’t make much of a difference here like it would with a more traditional power hitter. The Giants will give Nate Furman and Osleivis Barabe looks at second base for now.

Arraez is continuing to do what he’s always done and hit, slashing .324/.360/.440 on the season for the Giants with four home runs, 52 runs scored, and 10 steals. What’s new this year is that he’s playing tremendous defense at second base. Which begs the question of what’s next for the Phillies? The Phillies have Bryson Stott at second base, Bryce Harper at first base, and Kyle Schwarber at DH, so there don’t seem to be any openings for Arraez. They could opt to move Bryce Harper back to the outfield, or perhaps Stott or third baseman Alec Bohm will be headed somewhere else today.