2024-07-26 15:10:02
CHICAGO — Desperately needing a jolt to their offense, the Mariners believe they’ve added a big boost.
The club on Thursday night acquired All-Star outfielder Randy Arozarena from the Rays, marking the first blockbuster of the Trade Deadline season. Going back to Tampa Bay are two promising but younger prospects, both Draft picks from last year.
Mariners receive: OF Randy Arozarena
Rays receive: OF Aidan Smith (No. 12 among Mariners Top 30 prospects), RHP Brody Hopkins (No. 22), player to be named later
Arozarena arrives at a time with Seattle sinking fast in the American League postseason race, having dropped a 10-game lead atop the AL West as recently as June 18 to now being one game behind Houston and 3 1/2 games out of the final AL Wild Card spot, entering this week’s series against the White Sox.
In the midst of a down year, Arozarena has turned things around dramatically since June 1, with a slash line of .290/.402/.517 (.920 OPS) after hitting .158 with a .568 OPS over his first 56 games. He’s earning $8.1 million this season and is under club control for two more seasons (through 2026), with likely two more raises in salary via arbitration.
The Mariners are clearly banking on him sustaining his re-found form, which is very much in line with his career numbers to this point — those include a .787 OPS, 125 wRC+ (league average is 100) and 86 home runs over 586 games across four seasons. And beyond that, the 2021 AL Rookie of the Year Award winner has relished the spotlight as much as any player in the game.
Arozarena, 29, put together one of the most historic postseason runs in 2020, when he hit 10 homers in 20 games during the Rays’ run to the World Series. Then, as the starting left fielder in his first All-Star appearance in 2023 — coincidentally at T-Mobile Park — he made a leaping catch at the wall during the first inning that wowed the Seattle crowd. Arozarena also finished runner-up in that year’s Home Run Derby, to Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who the Mariners have coveted in this Deadline season, according to sources.
His real star turn last year came during his electrifying performance for Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. From 2021-23, his adjusted wRC+ sat between 124 and 129, and he had at least 20 homers, at least 20 steals and at least 140 hits while playing at least 141 games each year.
“Randy is a dynamic, high-energy all-around player who has excelled in the biggest moments on the biggest stages,” Mariners GM Justin Hollander said in a statement. “He’s going to be a great addition to our clubhouse and lineup.”
Thursday’s trade marked the 16th between Seattle and Tampa Bay since Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto took over after the 2015 season. Both clubs were actively engaged in talks for multiple players last offseason, according to sources, among them Arozarena and Rays corner infielders Isaac Paredes and Yandy Díaz.
To that end, the Mariners might not be done during this Deadline season. Parting with Smith, who has been raking in the Minors, and Hopkins, who the club was very high on, still kept the top of its farm system intact — with plenty more to deal from. Headlining that group is catcher Harry Ford (Seattle’s No. 2 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 23 overall).
Ideally, they’d add another impact bat. Behind the scenes, Seattle’s front office has been steadfast about aggressively improving the club, even on the heels of a dramatic fall from grace (9-20 since that 10-game lead) and gut-punch injuries this week to stalwarts J.P. Crawford (out 4-6 weeks with a fractured right pinkie) and Julio Rodríguez (whose timeline is TBD with a high ankle sprain)
The Mariners’ main priority, even after parting with first baseman Ty France earlier this week, had been to acquire an outfielder to augment a crowded yet underachieving group. Rodríguez is the mainstay long term, and Luke Raley — also acquired from Tampa Bay, in January — has been their best acquisition from last offseason.
Yet beyond Rodríguez, the rest of the group on the active roster brings their own question marks.
Fan favorite Mitch Haniger has a career-worst .628 OPS and lost playing time. Veteran Victor Robles has experienced success but in short spurts. Cade Marlowe was just recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on Tuesday. Dominic Canzone, who the club was banking on being a big contributor, is hitting .211 with a .684 OPS and is on the IL for the second time this season.
The Mariners desperately need offense to couple with a pitching staff that has been among MLB’s elite. Seattle’s bats, collectively, rank among the worst in baseball, with a .216 batting average (30th among the 30 clubs), a .660 OPS (28th) and a 28.0% strikeout rate (30th). Arozarena brings swing-and-miss, with a career 25.3% K rate.
But he also brings power potential — and maybe just as much, hope — to a club that sorely needs it.
