The Arc of San Diego held its annual Spring Casino Royale Gala on April 20 at The US Grant Hotel. The event brought together some of San Diego’s most notable philanthropists for an unforgettable evening of glamour, mystery, and excitement for a great cause.

All funds raised benefit The Arc of San Diego and more than 2,000 children and adults with disabilities who annually receive support. Generosity from the attendees ensured the ability to continue providing essential services such as adult day program, vocational training, and employment placement, according to a news release.

Guests were greeted with a captivating cocktail reception adorned with silent auction and whimsical photo booth. Enchanting magicians mesmerized attendees as they mingled, listened to live music, and enjoyed delectable hors d’oeuvres. Guests moved to the ballroom, where they indulged in a lavish dinner and danced to music by Wayne Foster Entertainment. The program also included a musical performance by Arc clients and live auction.

MC Mark Mathis, a meteorologist from KUSI TV, served as the MC. Concluding the evening on a sweet note, guests indulged in a divine coffee and dessert bar before dancing the night away in jubilant celebration.

The Casino Royale Gala owes its success to the tireless efforts of Gala Chair Linda Kurtin, a local philanthropist and longtime supporter of The Arc of San Diego, as well as its generous sponsors. “We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the generous donors whose unwavering support made our gala a tremendous success,” said Jennifer Bates Navarra, vice president of Marketing & Development at The Arc of San Diego, in the news release. “We would like to thank our sponsors, supporters, and volunteers whose dedication ensured an unforgettable evening.”

For more information on The Arc of San Diego, visit www.arc-sd.com.

The first major trade of the MLB season arrived last night. The Miami Marlins sent two-time batting champion Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres for four minor leaguers.

No one is more adept at putting bat to ball than Arraez. The 27-year-old second baseman has a .324 career batting average with 180 walks and only 176 strikeouts over his six-year career. His 7.5% strikeout rate is by far the best in MLB since he debuted in 2019, with no one else below 9.3%. The only other qualified players in that timeframe with more walks than strikeouts are Alex Bregman and Juan Soto.

He led the American League with a .316 batting average for the Minnesota Twins in 2022, then was traded to Miami where he hit .354 last year. This season, he has a .299/.347/.372 slash line and has yet to hit a home run. He has a $10.6 million salary and two more years of arbitration eligibility before reaching free agency.

He will fill the Padres’ opening at designated hitter. Manny Machado was restricted to DH duties for the first few weeks of the year as he recovered from offseason surgery, but has transitioned back to his customary third base spot. Arraez is primarily a second baseman and has some experience at first base, but is a poorly-rated defender. Over his career, he has -46 Outs Above Average according to Statcast. Xander Bogaerts is the everyday second baseman in San Diego and Jake Cronenworth plays first.

Arraez will likely bat at the top of the order and provide a more conventional leadoff hitter than Jurickson Profar. That will bump a rotating cast of bench players, such as Tyler Wade and Graham Pauley, out of a regular spot in the lineup.

The Padres are 17-18, sitting in second place in the NL West. FanGraphs lists their playoff odds at 47.1%. Arraez gives them a greater offensive threat, which will bolster their chances of playing in October. It’s rare for teams to swing a major trade so early in the year, and this strengthens their roster nearly two months before trade talks intensify around the league.

On the other side, the Marlins are 9-25. The only other teams that haven’t reached ten wins yet are the 8-24 Colorado Rockies and 6-26 Chicago White Sox. Injuries have already dashed their chances of competing this season, especially to their starting pitching. Sandy Alcantara and Eury Pérez will miss the entire season, and they currently have 11 players on the IL.

Still, they finished 84-78 and made the playoffs just last year. Trading Arraez signifies the front office doesn’t think this is only a one-year blip for a franchise that had been trending upward. He could’ve anchored their batting order through 2026 before reaching free agency.

The three prospects they received in return are outfielders Dillon Head and Jakob Marsee as well as first baseman Nathan Martorella. MLB Pipeline ranked them the sixth, ninth, and 13th best prospects in the Padres’ system. Head is in Low-A while Marsee and Martorella play in Double-A.

The fourth player they received is reliever Woo-Suk Go, who was included in the package to offset salary. The Padres signed him out of Korea this offseason to a two-year, $4.5 million deal, but he failed to make the club out of spring training. He has allowed seven runs and 18 baserunners in 12 1/3 innings in Double-A this year.

Prior to the trade, the Padres had a payroll of $165.5 million, but their competitive balance tax assessment was $226.7 million. Acquiring Arraez brings them much closer to the first tax threshold of $237 million. The team intends to stay under that limbo bar, which prompted the Soto trade this offseason along with their decision to let Blake Snell, Josh Hader, and several other key pitchers walk away in free agency.

The trade is a juxtaposition of philosophies. The Padres are still adding to their roster despite their self-imposed financial restriction, striving to reach the postseason this year and beyond. Even though Miami isn’t going anywhere in 2024, they could still regroup for the 2025 season. Instead, they shed their best hitter who still had multiple years of team control. Throughout the 31-year history of the franchise, it seems that whenever they have the choice between loading up or backing down, they always choose the cheaper option.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Miami Marlins are working on a trade that would send second baseman and reigning NL batting champion Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres.

The Marlins said Friday that the deal was pending a review of medical information before it could be finalized and formally announced.

“When a guy like that is taken out of the lineup or potentially traded, you feel it, because he’s such a good kid and one of the leaders in that clubhouse,” manager Skip Schumaker said, “so there’s definitely a shock value.”

There was also some shock in the Padres’ clubhouse after their 7-1 victory over the Diamondbacks on Friday night, though it was for happier reasons.

“It’s really amazing — that guy is a baller,” San Diego slugger Fernando Tatis Jr. said about Arraez. “He’s probably the closest to Tony Gwynn right now, so looking forward to seeing him in our lineup. … The guy’s a pure hitter and I can’t wait for him to help us.”

Gwynn won eight batting titles for the Padres during his Hall of Fame career from 1982 to 2001.

Miami changed its lineup minutes before first pitch in Oakland, pulling the 27-year-old Arraez out of the leadoff spot.

Instead, he made his way through the visitor’s dugout at the Coliseum shaking hands and offering hugs and goodbyes with his now-former teammates, coaches and staff.

“Great teammate,” Schumaker said. “So of course, yeah, I think that it’s human nature that there’s an initial shock value when it happens. Again, nothing’s official, but when he gets pulled out of the lineup these guys aren’t dumb, they know what’s going on. I think that the initial shock factor is definitely real and hopefully it goes away in a couple days or tomorrow or whatever it is because we know it’s a business and you’re paid here to come here and win games and be professional.”

Arraez — who was gone by the end of Miami’s 3-1 loss and his locker empty — should provide an instant spark to the Padres’ lineup. San Diego trails the first-place Dodgers in the talented NL West.

Arraez was hitting .299 with five RBIs and had scored 22 runs with a .347 on-base percentage over 16 games during Miami’s 9-24 start. A two-time All-Star, he also won an AL batting title for the Minnesota Twins in 2022 before they traded him to Miami for Pablo Lopez in January 2023.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay appreciated the heads up from Schumaker before the game.

“It can be disruptive, but I think Skip handled it very, very well,” Kotsay said. “He’s been in the game a long time. Delivering those messages is never easy, but it was nice to see his teammates get a chance to say what they needed to. In terms of preparation, we’re all professional here. Those things happen. I’m sure it didn’t distract them from the game.”

The Marlins were reportedly expected to receive four players: reliever Woo-Suk Go and prospects Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee, and Nathan Martorella.

Martorella was playing in a Double-A game for San Antonio and at second base when he was traded and removed from the game, confused initially before saying his goodbyes.

ESPN first reported the trade Friday.

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AP Baseball Writer David Brandt in Phoenix contributed to this report.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb