Seattle Mariners need the real Randy Arozarena in 2025
Feb 17, 2025, 3:57 PM | Updated: Feb 18, 2025, 10:39 am
There are a few opinions about the 2025 Seattle Mariners that seem to be consensus among MLB insiders.
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First, they have arguably the best five-man starting rotation in baseball – though I think the amount of times we’ve heard that statement makes the word “arguably” unnecessary at this point.
Next, the offense hasn’t changed much a season after it wasn’t good enough to capitalize on that starting pitching to get back into the playoffs.
And finally, they really need Julio Rodríguez to be the straw that stirs the drink.
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Missing from these consensus opinions, however, is any mention of Seattle’s biggest acquisition of the last calendar year. It’s another outfielder who has at times proven to be one of the best players in the game. And it’s a guy who should be right in the prime of his career.
That’s Randy Arozarena, who the Mariners made a big trade to get from the Tampa Bay Rays just ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline.
Arozarena, who will turn 30 later this month, helped the Mariners after that trade. He had five homers, 14 doubles, a .356 on-base percentage and .733 OPS in 54 games with Seattle. But he never really took off, putting up just a .231 average and .377 slugging mark over that time.
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It was a surprisingly quiet first impression by Arozarena in Seattle. And now that quietness has continued through the offseason and into spring training. I mean, we’ve been talking more about Victor Robles, a different key Mariners pickup from 2024, than Arozarena this winter.
The quiet around Arozarena is odd, because he’s been anything but since he burst onto the MLB scene in 2020.
This is a guy who has a reputation as one of the best big-game players in baseball. A guy who can do things like this.
And this.
And even this.
We’re talking about a guy who had one of the greatest postseasons ever, hitting .377 with 10 home runs and a ridiculous 1.273 OPS in 20 games – as a rookie – in 2020.
A guy who then went on to have a huge World Baseball Classic in 2023, hitting .450 with a 1.507 OPS and some absolutely huge catches to help Mexico reach the semifinals, where it almost upset eventual champion Japan.
A guy who has one of the most robust catalogs of highlights in baseball when you search his name on YouTube.
Randy Arozarena can be the ultimate X-factor, and that’s the exact kind of player who can make a huge difference for the Seattle Mariners.
The real Randy
The hope when the Mariners made their big swing to get Arozarena last season was that he would bounce back from a rough start to 2024 with the Rays and inject some life into Seattle’s offense. He had his moments for sure, most notably when stepped out of the box on three straight balls and then crushed a 3-0 offering for his 20th homer of the season (click the link below).
Related: Randy Arozarena captivates announcers with AB on 20th HR
Unfortunately, 2024 as a whole was the worst year of his career. A career .265 hitter entering last season, he was 46 points off of that mark. He had an .802 OPS going into 2024, another number he fell well short of. Always a hitter who slugged .425 or higher, he was down to .388. About the only good news was that he walked nearly as much as he ever had, and he reached 20 homers and 20 stolen bases for a fourth straight season.
But, and here’s that word again, he was oddly quiet.
Maybe the problem was that the Rays weren’t as good last year as they had been in the years prior. This is a guy who lives for the big moments, who supplies the juice when it’s needed. And it was clear going into 2024 that Tampa Bay was taking a step back after reaching five straight postseasons. Maybe that got to him, and he had trouble getting back into the groove.
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The Mariners have bigger plans in 2025 than the Rays had in 2024, though. The M’s may not have had the most active offseason, but the move last year for Arozarena was a big one, and one they knew was about more than just one half of a season.
Arozarena isn’t going to being the guy who hits .320 or crush 40 home runs. When he’s right, he’s going to get you around a .260 average, reach the 20/20 plateau, and play an adventurous left field. But he’s streaky and is the kind of player who can carry a team for stretches. Especially if those stretches have a lot of meaning to the team he plays for.
That would pair well with the guy who plays to Arozarena’s left in Seattle’s outfield, especially if said guy turns in the kind of MVP-caliber season Mariners fans have been waiting for.
If Julio can be the straw, Randy can be the juice.
Arozarena is one of the best big-game players in baseball, and the Seattle Mariners have him. Here’s hoping that, with his help, they can put themselves in the type of games where he can show Seattle exactly who he is – loudly.
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