Mariners Make Their Move, Acquire Randy Arozarena
The hot stove is heating up as the Seattle Mariners swung a late-night trade with the Rays to land the face of their franchise, Randy Arozarena.
A significant move was announced shortly passed midnight Friday morning with the Seattle Mariners trading for former Rookie of the Year Randy Arozarena from the Tampa Bay Rays. After the Marlins and Diamondbacks pulled off an A.J. Puk trade hours earlier, the deadline has officially kicked off.
There was no doubt Seattle needed to add offense and moving on from Ty France earlier in the week signaled they were finally ready to shake things up. Following the injury news to J.P. Crawford and Julio Rodriguez, Seattle worked quickly to add a proven bat.
At the surface, this move immediately strengthens a Seattle lineup that had nine regulars with an OPS under .700. Arozarena has has a dip in production this season to start the season but has turned it on as of late. Since June first, Arozarena is slashing .290/.402/.517 with seven home runs good for a 166 wRC+.
Adding Arozarena should help soften the blow to Rodriguez going on the injured list while also, hopefully, taking some pressure off of him once he returns. Another proven bat to lengthen the lineup, Less Mitch Haniger’s at bats, and steady the ship once Victor Robles comes back down to earth.
The timing of this moves sticks out for two reasons. First, the Mariners are showing they are not going to use injuries as an excuse to not be aggressive. Adding a lesser name or skating by would have been a more “Mariners” route in the past, but not any more. Second, another big move is likely coming. Getting the first deal out of the way earlier while not moving the bigger named prospects allows the Mariners to time to focus on an additional move with plenty of ammo to do so. Even when healthy, Seattle needed more than just one bat.
The Rays Return
The Rays moving Arozarena could be seen from a mile away. Even with two more years of control, his $8 million price tag was only going up and Tampa tends to cash in around that mark in control. The return did not include a flashy name like I’m sure Rays fans would have hoped, but we have seen them turn these trades into gold.
Aidan Smith, 20, is an outfielder who was selected in the 4th round in 2023. In his first full season in Single-A Smith has slashed .284/.402/.872 with nine home runs and 28 stolen bases. He was an honorable mention on Just Baseball’s Top 15 Mariners prospects
Brody Hopkins, 22, is a pitcher who also came from the 2023 draft, selected in the sixth round. The 6-foot-4 righty has 95 strikeouts across 83.2 innings in Single-A with a 2.90 ERA. A mid 90s fastball paired with a slider has lead to not only strikeouts, but a 58.6% groundball rate .
What’s Next for Seattle?
I really like this move for the Mariners. Corner outfield ahs been a struggle for them on and off for a few seasons and the eventual pair of Julio with Randy will be electric. Years of control but not a contract that marries the Mariners to Arozarena provides them with flexibility. The timing helps, too.
Dipoto can now shift his focus to the infield. How comfortable are you with Tyler Locklear, Josh Rojas, Dylan Moore, and Jorge Polanco taking large chunks of at bats? If the Reds are willing to move Jonathan India, a deal could be made. The Reds and Mariners have been dance partners in the past, and the music just started to play again.
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