Current:Home > FinanceCan Randy Arozarena save the free-falling Seattle Mariners? -GrowthProspect
Can Randy Arozarena save the free-falling Seattle Mariners?
View
Date:2025-04-13 03:29:03
The Seattle Mariners have acquired 2023 All-Star Randy Arozarena in a late-night trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, the Mariners announced early Friday.
“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.”
Seattle is sending prospects Aidan Smith and Brody Hopkins and a player to be named later to the Rays for Arozarena.
Though Arozarena is struggling through the worst batting season of his career — his .211 batting average, .318 on-base percentage and .394 slugging percentage are all career lows — the Mariners are potentially making a high-upside bet on a player who earned 2020 ALCS MVP and 2021 AL Rookie of the Year honors. Arozarena was batting .140 with a .491 OPS on May 3, but has produced an .826 OPS and 11 home runs in 67 games since.
And the Mariners are desperate for anyone to stop their freefall, which is almost entirely due to a stagnant offense.
Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.
After a 44-31 start, the team is in a 9-20 tailspin that has dropped Seattle one game back of the Houston Astros for the AL West lead - this after holding a 10-game lead as recently as June 18. The Mariners also have the worst team batting average in all of baseball, their .216 mark just below the .217 average of the Chicago White Sox, who are 27-78. Seattle's .660 OPS ranks 28th, ahead of only the White Sox and Miami Marlins.
They recently designated for assignment former All-Star first baseman Ty France, who was batting .223 with a .662 OPS.
Smith, an outfielder who is the Mariners' 12th-ranked prospect per MLB.com, and Hopkins, a right-handed pitcher who is the Mariners' 22nd-ranked prospect, are heading to St. Petersburg. While trading key contributors is nothing new for the Rays, flipping Arozarena now begs the question: Are the Rays punting on this season?
The Rays are 52-51, fourth place in the AL East and four games back of the Kansas City Royals for the final AL wild card spot. Coincidentally, the Rays are a half-game behind the Mariners in the wild-card standings.
Yet the Rays were expected to adopt an open-ended stance at the trade deadline, perhaps buying and selling. In dealing Arozarena, they shed $8.1 million salary while forfeiting his final two years of club control.
They'll also close the book on one of the more entertaining and explosive players in franchise history. Arozarena slugged 10 home runs in 18 games of the 2020 AL Division Series, Championship Series and World Series as Tampa Bay fell two wins shy of its first championship in franchise history.
Arozarena's career postseason slash line in 33 games? .336/.414/.690.
The Mariners will get a chance to enhance those numbers - but they need to get to the playoffs, first. Arozarena is expected to play a big part in that effort.
veryGood! (7723)
Related
- The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
- Entering a new 'era'? Here's how some people define specific periods in their life.
- Whitney Cummings Gives Birth to Her First Baby
- Mostert, Tagovailoa lead Dolphins to a 30-0 victory over the Jets without Tyreek Hill
- Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
- How Taylor Swift Played a Role in Katie Couric Learning She’s Going to Be a Grandma
- European Union investigating Musk’s X over possible breaches of social media law
- March 2023 in photos: USA TODAY's most memorable images
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Southwest Airlines reaches $140 million settlement for December 2022 flight-canceling meltdown
Ranking
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- People are leaving some neighborhoods because of floods, a new study finds
- Former Ohio State QB Kyle McCord announces he is transferring to Syracuse
- EU hits Russia’s diamond industry with new round of sanctions over Ukraine war
- 2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
- Farmers protest against a German government plan to cut tax breaks for diesel
- November 2023 in photos: USA TODAY's most memorable images
- Pope says priests can bless same-sex unions, requests should not be subject to moral analysis
Recommendation
2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
Kishida says Japan is ready to lead Asia in achieving decarbonization and energy security
Serbia’s populist leader relies on his tested playbook to mastermind another election victory
Hundreds of residents on Indonesian island protest the growing arrival of Rohingya refugees by sea
Small twin
Man in West Virginia panhandle killed after shooting at officers serving warrant, authorities say
Study bolsters evidence that severe obesity increasing in young US kids
European Union investigating Musk’s X over possible breaches of social media law