All-Star outfielder Randy Arozarena is heading to the Seattle Mariners. The M's acquired Arozarena in a trade with the Rays late on Thursday night, the team announced. Right-hander Brody Hopkins and outfielder Aidan Smith, both minor-league prospects, and a player to be named later are heading to the Rays in the deal. Seattle recently lost its lead in the AL West, and Arozarena is the most impactful player who has been moved so far this month ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline.
Arozarena's 2024 numbers (.211/.318/.394 with 15 home runs in 100 games) are below his career norms. But the right-handed-hitting slugger has been much better in recent weeks. Arozarena is hitting .281/.378/.518 since June 5. CBS Sports ranked Arozarena as the ninth-best potential trade deadline candidate earlier this month (and listed the Mariners as his top landing spot). Here's what we wrote:
An ill-advised offseason swing change left Arozarena's seasonal numbers in a hole that he only started to dig out of in June. It's fair to think the Rays, as a result, may elect to hold onto him until at least the winter and give him a chance to repair whatever (if any) damage he did to his stock. We're including Arozarena anyway because let's face it: he's a proven middle-of-the-order bat who is getting expensive (at least by Tampa Bay standards) with two additional years of team control left after this one. That's a profile that plenty of clubs would be willing to overlook a couple of bad months to obtain.
As noted, Arozarena has two more years of team control as an arbitration-eligible player and is not slated to hit free agency until after the 2026 season.
The Mariners -- who enter the weekend trailing the Astros by one game in the division -- are hoping Arozarena will be an impact bat who can provide a jolt in the middle of their lineup. The Mariners rank 28th in baseball with a .660 team OPS, and Seattle just placed star centerfielder Julio Rodríguez on the injured list with a sprained ankle.
Arozarena burst onto the scene as a rookie in the 2020 postseason as he hit a record-setting 10 home runs in the Rays' run to the World Series. He was then named AL Rookie of the Year in 2021 and made his first All-Star Game last year, when the game was held at Seattle's T-Mobile Park.
The Rays, meanwhile, are signaling they will be trade deadline sellers. At 52-51, Tampa Bay is in fourth place in the AL East, but just four games out of a playoff spot in the wild-card race. The Rays also traded right-hander Aaron Civale to the Brewers earlier this month.
