As Randy Arozarena still adjusts to a new life with a new team 3,000 miles away from where he spent the last four seasons and offseasons, his former team — the Tampa Bay Rays — will visit Seattle for a three-game series at T-Mobile Park, starting Monday night. “It’s going to be a little weird, but we are just going to have go out there and try to beat them,” Arozarena said through interpreter Freddy Llanos. Over 41⁄2 seasons, he played in 568 regular-season games with the Rays, posting a .
255/.348/.441 slash line.
He won the American League Rookie of the Year in 2021 and was an All-Star in 2023. After defecting in 2015 from Cuba to Mexico, he later signed with the Cardinals and eventually made his debut in August 2019. Before the 2020 season, he was traded to Tampa Bay in a multiplayer deal.
He played in 23 games in the COVID-shortened season but became a postseason hero, helping lead the Rays to the World Series. He had four hits, including two doubles and an RBI in the AL wild-card series. In the ALDS vs.
the Yankees, he racked up eight hits in 19 at-bats, including three homers and three RBI. He was named the American League Championship Series MVP, going 9-for-28 with a double, four homers and six RBI. He also had eight hits and three more homers vs.
the Dodgers in the World Series. In 20 postseason games in 2020, he had 29 hits in 77 at-bats with three doubles, a triple, 10 homers and 14 RBI. So why did the Rays trade him to Seattle? Well, Arozarena was simply getting too expensive for the cash-strapped Rays.
His slow start to the 2024 season offered increased motivation. In his second year of four years of salary arbitration, Arozarena agreed to an $8.1 million salary for 2024.
That salary will only increase over the final two seasons of arbitration eligibility. So when the Mariners offered a pair of quality prospects — outfielder Aidan Smith and right-handed pitcher Brody Hopkins — Tampa parted ways with the ultra-popular outfielder. It was a trade that hurt Arozarena, who makes his permanent home in Tampa.
Perhaps, seeing his old teammates will make the transition a little easier. He expects plenty of trash talking. “Those are my ex-teammates and we have a good relationship,” he said.
“We are going to have some fun.” He expects the most talking from center fielder Jose Siri. “Me and him have a good relationship,” Arozarena said.
“We created that relationship, and it’s going to be fun seeing him again and facing him again on the field.” After a strong start following the trade, Arozarena has struggled. Over his last 10 games, he has three hits in 45 plate appearances.
He has one RBI, five walks and has been hit by four pitches with 15 strikeouts. He’s also had some bad luck with hard-hit balls being caught. “I’m trying to keep my confidence,” he said.
“I have to just continue working outside the field, because I know things are going to come. I'm not losing sleep over it. I know I'm not helping the team as much as they want, but I know it's just a small streak and things will turn around.
” Sunday’s series finale vs. the Giants marked the 2,000 th regular-season game played at T-Mobile Park since the venue opened July 15, 1999. Both manager Dan Wilson and interim hitting coach Edgar Martinez were in the Mariners’ lineup for that inaugural game.
“It’s still one of the most beautiful ballparks in the league,” Wilson said. “To be here in the 2,000th game is pretty, pretty special. I didn't actually know that.
But it's a beautiful ballpark, and to have a nice day out here with the roof open, it seems kind of fitting for that.” Wilson scored the first run in the new stadium on that day. “David Bell had a base hit and I scored from second,” he recalled.
The process of the seeing the stadium built while still playing games next door at the Kingdome made it different. “It was cool to be able to see it kind of from the ground up, and to see it at different phases of the construction process,” Wilson said. “It was a pretty neat experience.
To get over here and to be on the field, it was completely different than being indoor at the Kingdome. It took a lot of getting used to, and we didn't have a ton of time to do that, because we were coming back from the All-Star break. So even that first BP session, a lot of it was just seeing the ball flight, all the newness of everything in here, and kind of how it was with the stands and when the sun was setting.
” Luke Raley was scratched from the starting lineup about 30 minutes before first pitch Sunday due to flu-like symptoms. Josh Rojas was inserted into the lineup and later came up with what would be the game-winning hit. Victor Robles (right index finger contusion) was out of the lineup after taking a 95-mph fastball off his finger while trying to bunt in the first inning of Saturday’s loss and is considered day-to-day.
“I think it's going to be more of an issue with throwing rather than hitting,” Wilson said. “But get him another break today and see what happens, maybe see him later in the game. But for now, I think it’s as good as the news could have been.
J.P. Crawford (right hand fracture) played seven innings for Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday afternoon in the second game of his rehab assignment.
Crawford went 1-for-3 with a single, a walk and two strikeouts. Crawford played Saturday night with the Rainiers as well. “Everything went as planned [Saturday],” Wilson said pregame.
“He’s back there again today and will probably play a full game down there today. We’ll kind of evaluate after that. We are hoping it's early next week when he's back and gets back with us and for sure on the road trip.
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