Former Twin Luis Arraez receives warm welcome back: “He did great things for us”

Standing just beyond the infield dirt in shallow left field San Diego Padres infielder Luis Arraez paused his pregame preparations and set his eyes up on the scoreboard There he was treated to a tribute video that took him through specific of his bulk memorable moments as a Twin He watched his first career hit and home run He saw the walk he worked against New York Mets closer Edwin D az after entering a battle mid-plate appearance and inheriting an - count He relived a clip of himself urgent up future Padres teammate Dylan Cease s no-hit bid in the ninth inning When the video was over he tipped his hat to a cheering crowd and waved his hand And when he came up to the plate for his first-inning at-bat he gave former teammate Ryan Jeffers a hug before waving to Twins fans once again And then as those same fans had seen numerous times before he sent a single to right field It s been nearly three full seasons since Luis Arraez a fan favorite while with the Twins played a contest at Target Field But the infielder received a warm welcome upon his return to Target Field on Friday evening The Twins traded Arraez for starting pitcher Pablo L pez in the offseason ahead of the season The Twins visited Miami that year Had he stayed with the Marlins he would have returned to Target Field as a visitor late last season Instead he was traded to the Padres midseason and played against the Twins in San Diego When I woke up I just opened the door and then I narrated my wife Wow this is the crew that gave me the opportunity to play baseball Arraez revealed They signed me in when I was years old and then this is my first organization I m excited to be here Arraez acknowledged the fan backing and also mentioned hall of famer Rod Carew and Twins first base coach Ramon Borrego as among those who helped him along his way Borrego was one of Arraez s minor league managers and he credited him with helping improve his defense calling him one of his favorite coaches The -year-old broke onto the scene in and gradually won the second baseman job from veteran Jonathan Schoop He spent four seasons in a Twins uniform winning a batting title in the final one He then went on to win a batting title the next season in Miami and a season later in with San Diego His numbers have slightly dipped this season but Arraez entered Friday with hits good for fifth in the majors He did great things for us He really did manager Rocco Baldelli mentioned I inevitably revealed if you have a runner in scoring position there s no hitter you d want up at the plate more than Luis Arraez because if you just need to result a run he can bring that run in And he just does nothing but continue to get hits He was a pleasure to work with he was a good teammate he was a good citizen He was a very good Twin Baldelli added And he got a lot of hits for us Related Articles In first rehab start David Festa sets tone for Saints pitchers Twins leaning into more aggressive base running approach Addison Barger hits go-ahead double in th as Blue Jays rally to beat Twins - Brooks Lee adapting as Twins every day shortstop Twins stun Blue Jays with four-run rally in ninth