Randy Arozarena Attends Tampa Bay Rays Pennant-Earning Victory

The Seattle Mariners will have an interesting free agency in front of them coming off one of the most disappointing season in franchise history, a managerial change and the pending expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the MLB and MLB Players Association.

The Mariners will likely see several players leave via free agency, including their best hitter from this past season, left fielder Randy Arozarena.

Seattle is expected to extend the $21.3 million qualifying offer to Arozarena, but he'll likely decline it and sign a bigger deal elsewhere in free agency. He's expected to be one of, if not the most coveted player on the open market.

Arozarena is coming off his second consecutive All-Star season and third in four seasons. He slashed .281/.381/.484 with an .865 OPS in 154 games and hit 34 doubles, two triples and 26 home runs with 79 RBIs and stole 26 bases in 34 attempts.

The Mariners originally acquired Arozarena during the 2024 season in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays that netted the latter several prospects.

Arozarena was a fan-favorite in Tampa Bay, with a secondtion in left field known as "Randy Land." In the time between when Arozarena left the Rays and joined Seattle, he attended a game in Tampa Bay as a fan and said one last goodbye to fans.

Arozarena returned to Tropica Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., to watch his old team win its first American League pennant since he was with the team in 2020, where he was named the American League Championship Series MVP.

The Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 of the ALCS on Monday. They'll advance to the World Series to play the Milwaukee Brewers, with Game 1 set to take place at 5 p.m. PT on Friday at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

Arozarena was sitting behind home plate and was front-and-center to see his former teammate and Tampa Bay third baseman Junior Caminero hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh, which bolstered the Rays' lead to 5-1.

Caminero knew Arozarena was sitting behind home plate, and did his former teammate's iconic arms-crossed celebration.

It's unclear if Caminero's cap-tip to his former teammate could be a precursor to a reunion between Arozarena and Tampa Bay reuniting this offseason. The Rays are among the lowest spenders in the major leagues, but Arozarena would be an upgrade to the team's current starter in left field, Chandler Simpson.