Before saying goodbye to the Tampa Bay Rays and Tropicana Field, Randy Arozarena took a stroll through “Randy Land.”
The outfielder, traded to the Seattle Mariners for two prospects and a player to be named, watched a portion of his old team's 3-2 loss to Cincinnati from the left field stands on Friday night before interacting with fans.
Arozarena's popularity and home run prowess led to the team naming that seating area after him last season.
“I just gave him a big hug a minute ago," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “That was a nice thing that he did to go and see a bunch of his fans out in left field.”
The move comes as the Major League Baseball trading deadline approaches Tuesday. After Friday's loss, the Rays (52-52) were five games out in the American League wild-card standings.
And they weren't done dealing.
On Friday, the Rays also traded Opening Day starter Zach Eflin to the Baltimore Orioles for three minor-leaguers.
Randy Arozarena watched a few innings of the Rays game from the stands and said goodbye to fans 🥹 pic.twitter.com/PGgVUGYbHS
— MLB (@MLB) July 27, 2024
Arozarena is hitting a career-low .211 with 15 homers and 36 RBIs in 100 games. Despite the low average, Arozarena still has a .712 OPS this season, which is higher than all but one player in Seattle's everyday lineup.
And he's been on the upswing at the plate for nearly two months. Since June 1, Arozarena is hitting .284 with a .397 on-base percentage and a .904 OPS. He’s hit seven homers and walked 20 times during that 43-game span and is on pace for a fourth straight season with at least 20 homers.
“There’s no denying the importance he’s had in this organization for the last five years,” said Cash, who wouldn't rule out the team still making a run for the wild-card spot.
"Are we a better team without Randy? Nobody in this building in going to say that. … But we do think it’ll create some opportunities for guys to help out. Let’s see if we can keep it together.”
Arozarena became a breakout star during the 2020 postseason and World Series, which the Rays lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. He went 8-for-22 with three homers against the Dodgers. In 20 playoff games that year, he hit .377 with 10 homers, 19 runs and 14 RBIs.
Last season, Arozarena hit a career-high 23 homers and was the All-Star Game starter in left field when the game was played at T-Mobile Park in Seattle — a place where he's hit .289 in his career.
That season started with Tampa Bay winning its first 14 games at Tropicana Field, tied for the fourth-longest home streak to begin a season.
As is usual with Rays trades, future salary plays role. Arozarena comes to Seattle with future control. He's eligible for arbitration for the next two seasons and won't hit free agency until 2027.
The Mariners sent right-handed pitcher Brody Hopkins and outfielder Aidan Smith to the Rays, along with the player to be named later.
Smith, 20, was ranked as the Mariners’ No. 12 prospect, and MLB Pipeline placed him at No. 11 in the Rays’ system. He was Seattle’s fourth-round pick in last year’s draft out of Lovejoy High School in Texas. At Class A Modesto, the right-handed hitter was batting .284 with nine homers, 26 doubles, 28 steals, 63 runs and 42 RBIs in 77 games, according to MLB.com.
Hopkins, 22, was Seattle’s No. 22 prospect, and MLB Pipeline has him as Tampa Bay’s No. 6 prospect. He was 4-3 with a 2.90 ERA, 95 strikeouts, 40 walks and only two home runs allowed in 83 2/3 innings over 18 starts for Modesto this season He was a sixth-round pick in 2023 from South Carolina out of Winthrop University.
The right-handed Eflin had an excellent 2023 season, his first with Tampa Bay, recording a career-best 3.50 earned-run average over 31 starts. He finished sixth in voting for the AL Cy Young Award. This season, the 30-year-old has a 4.09 ERA through 19 starts.
In exchange for Eflin, Tampa Bay received utility fielder Mac Horvath, Baltimore's No. 10 prospect, right-handed pitcher Jackson Baumeister, Baltimore No. 17 prospect, and outfielder Matthew Etzel.
Left-hander Jeffrey Springs, expected to come off the injured list next week, likely will replace Eflin in the' pitching rotation. On Friday, 26-year-old Jonny Deluca started in left field.
“We’re going to keep doing our best to win games this year. It’s going to be harder without those two, but our outlook for the next three, five, seven years is considerably stronger with what we brought in,” Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said.
“I have a responsibility to try to get this team to a World Series,” Neander added. “Ideally, we stay all in on this year and we strengthen our future, but we have to make some difficult choices.”
The Mariners have been in the midst of a major slide over the past month that has seen them lose a 10-game lead in the AL West largely due to a struggling offense. Seattle is 9-20 since June 19 and now trails Houston in the division standings after Thursday.
“Randy is a dynamic, high-energy all-around player who has excelled in the biggest moments on the biggest stages,” Seattle general manager Justin Hollander said of Arozarena. “He’s going to be a great addition to our clubhouse and lineup.”
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
