This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Adding a talented player experiencing a tough season, the Seattle Mariners acquired former All-Star outfielder Randy Arozarena from the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night.
The Rays will receive outfielder Aidan Smith and right-hander Brody Hopkins, both minor-leaguers, and a player to be named.
The Mariners (53-51) have struggled on offense all season — they are hitting a major-league-worst .216 and have a big-league-high 1,066 strikeouts — and they recently placed center fielder Julio Rodriguez (high ankle sprain) and shortstop J.P. Crawford (broken right pinkie) on the injured list. However, they are still in the thick of the playoff race, one game behind the first-place Houston Astros (53-49) in the American League West.
Arozarena, 29, is hitting just .211, but he has 15 homers and has been making better contact over the past two months. Since June 1, he has hit .284 and ranks sixth in the American League with a .397 on-base percentage.
“Randy is a dynamic, high-energy all-around player who has excelled in the biggest moments on the biggest stages,” Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said in a statement. “He’s going to be a great addition to our clubhouse and lineup.”
Arozarena became a full-time major-leaguer in 2021 after being selected the Most Valuable Player of the 2020 AL Championship Series. He is one of three players who recorded 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in each season from 2021-23. He is on pace to do it again, with the 15 homers and 16 stolen bases this season.
Arozarena started in the 2023 All-Star Game at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. He finished that season with a .254 average, 23 homers, 83 RBIs and 22 stolen bases.
In 587 career games, Arozarena is hitting .256 with 86 homers, 291 RBIs, 325 runs and 96 stolen bases. He started his career with the St. Louis Cardinals, who traded him to Tampa Bay in January 2020.
Smith, 20, and Hopkins, 22, are both playing for Seattle’s Class-A club in Modesto, Calif. Smith, a fourth-round pick by the Mariners in 2023, is batting .284 and has an active 20-game hitting streak. Hopkins, a sixth-rounder in 2023, is 4-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 18 starts for Modesto.
–Field Level Media
