Just days before the start of the 2026 Seattle Mariners season, outfielder Randy Arozarena is attempting to put his World Baseball Classic controversy with Cal Raleigh to bed.

In case you haven't been paying attention for the last two weeks:

Throughout the back half of the WBC, the baseball world was abuzz with the "handshake controversy" involving Raleigh and Arozarena. Raleigh, who was playing for Team USA, snubbed Arozarena's greeting at home plate when Arozarena was playing for Mexico.

Arozarena didn't like it, even though it was reportedly a Team USA policy, producing a viral and profane reaction after the game. Raleigh attempted to halt the momentum of the story after the fact, but Arozarena didn't share his sentiment, essentially no-commenting in person before putting out some social media sub-commentary on the topic.

When he arrived back at Mariners camp, he didn't speak to the media, instead issuing a statement through Mariners PR. Even the Savannah Bananas mocked the Mariners over the story.

Now, Arozarena has issued another statement, but this one has more of what fans were hoping for the first time around.

A statement from Randy Arozarena:

"I understand that with Opening Day a few days away, I don’t want it to be a distraction. Cal and I have talked and I apologized for what I said after the game. Nothing in the WBC takes away from the fact that we are brothers and teammates. He’s family, and we are both focused on helping the Mariners win the World Series."

It would still be nice if Arozarena spoke on the story in person, but at the end of the day, all that really matters is that he and Raleigh have spoken about the incident and appear to have moved past it. This statement also probably means that neither Arozarena nor Raleigh really need to speak on the incident when the team comes north for Opening Day next week. Everyone can just move forward.

The Mariners clubhouse was incredibly tight in 2025 and they are going to need that same kind of brotherhood if they are going to be successful in 2026.

Both Raleigh and Arozarena are a big part of the team's plans and will be counted onto produce. Raleigh hit an MLB-best 60 homers last season. Both players were All-Stars.

The M's have three more Cactus League games left before opening up the campaign next Thursday (7:10 p.m. PT) against the Cleveland Guardians. The Mariners just beat the Guardians in spring training play on Friday night, winning 20-8.

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