The Seattle Mariners can’t afford to let Randy Arozarena get away.
That’s the blunt takeaway from a season that has gone sideways in a hurry. Seattle has been battered by ugly losses - 19-2 to the Chicago Cubs last Sunday, then 22-0 to the Milwaukee Brewers a few days earlier - and even after taking a weekday series from the Philadelphia Phillies, the club was just swept by the Toronto Blue Jays in a rematch of last year’s American League Championship Series. What looked like one of the sport’s best lineups and rotations has regressed, and badly.
There have been a few flickers of hope, but not nearly enough to mask the slide. Cal Raleigh is starting to come around after a brutal opening stretch, though he is still batting well below the Mendoza line and is in the middle of one of the worst follow-up seasons to a second-place MVP finish in league history.
Josh Naylor has fallen off a cliff. Victor Robles, J.P.
Crawford and Luke Raley haven’t provided the kind of lift Seattle has needed to climb out of the AL playoff chase.
Julio Rodriguez, the face of the franchise, hasn’t caught fire the way he usually does later in the year, and Cole Young has shown flashes while also feeling the strain of his first full season across 162 games in 180 days. The pitching hasn’t held up either. The rotation and bullpen have both taken steps back, former starters are losing jobs because of ineffectiveness, and the Mariners are leaning on rookies to try to keep the season afloat.
And yet, with the club nine games under .500 and still only five games out of the division and three back of the third wild-card spot, Arozarena has kept producing.
He has been Seattle’s lone All-Star this season and the one player consistently dragging the offense forward. In a year when so much has gone wrong, Arozarena has put together a monster line of .268/.367/.453 with an .820 OPS, which is a career high in a full season. His 4.2 WAR matches his dynamic 2021 AL Rookie of the Year season.
What stands out most is how he’s done it. This isn’t just a hot bat riding talent and bat speed.
Arozarena has become a disciplined, high-level presence at the plate. His 141 wRC+ is a career best and means he has been 41 percent better than league average.
He has also posted an above-average 10.1% walk rate, helping push his on-base percentage to .367. For a Mariners lineup that has struggled with strikeouts and failed to string together rallies, that kind of plate discipline has mattered.
The glove, though, is a different story. Arozarena’s defense in left field has not been pretty.
He sits in the bottom 10th percentile in Outs Above Average, which lines up with a -8 Fielding Run Value. His first step has been a problem, as he’s in the 12th percentile there, and the routes haven’t helped.
Plays to his left and balls hit toward the wall can turn into trouble, even if he does have a respectable arm and has collected five outfield assists.
Still, the bigger picture is simple: Seattle finally has someone who has given real, elite production in left field after years of that spot being a revolving door. Arozarena is in the last year of arbitration, making about 15.6 million this season, and by the numbers that is a bargain. Clubs pay about 9 million per win in free agency, and his value has been obvious.
He’s also beloved in the clubhouse and has shown he can thrive in the most pitcher-friendly park in the majors while living for the big moment. That combination is why, in this writer’s view, John Stanton and Jerry Dipoto should make re-signing him their top offseason priority.
There’s also the larger business of what comes next. With a potential MLB lockout threatening the 2027 season, the need for security and roster stability only grows. Letting a premium run producer walk would be a major mistake for a team that already has payroll questions hanging over it.
Arozarena also fits the Mariners’ future in practical terms. He’s 31, which should leave a few productive years in the tank, and if his defense slips further, he could move into designated hitter duty.
Taylor Ward has been a disaster since arriving in T-Mobile, so that corner looks more like a short-term rental than a long-term answer. Newly promoted slugger Lazaro Montes is expected to compete for right field, but left remains a bigger question.
And this is not a franchise known for making splashy free-agent swings, especially on hitters.
Beyond the numbers, though, Arozarena brings something this team badly needs: energy. He plays with a swagger and edge that give the roster a pulse. He’s the kind of fiery, infectious presence that can change the mood in a clubhouse, and after losing Eugenio Suarez this past winter, Seattle has been short on good vibes for months.
That matters for a team hoping rookies like right-hander Kade Anderson, shortstop-of-the-future Colt Emerson and Young can help push it toward a first American League pennant, not just this year but over the next five. If the Mariners want to turn a season of regression into something bigger, keeping Randy Arozarena in Seattle has to be the move.
In Other News...
Mariners Just Made A Desperate Roster Bet For Their Playoff Push
The Mariners added a little late-season intrigue by grabbing veteran left-hander Hoby Milner after he was waived by the Cubs, a move that gives Seattle another arm it can deploy if this push lasts into October. At the same time, the club brought up outfielder Lazaro Montes from Triple-A Tacoma, setting up his major league debut and adding another layer of youth to a roster that has been trying to balance urgency with depth as the playoff race tightens.
To make the pieces fit, Seattle designated utilityman Connor Joe and pitcher Nolan Kingham for assignment, the kind of roster shuffle that usually says as much about the moment as the players involved. The Mariners are clearly playing for flexibility now, looking for any edge they can find while also creating a lane for Montes to get his first big league look, with the bigger question being how far these moves can carry them if the season keeps stretching deeper. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Finally Turn To One Of Their Most Intriguing Young Bats
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Seattle also added pitcher Hoby Milner after he recently signed a minor league contract following his release by the Chicago Cubs, while Connor Joe and Nolan Kingham were designated for assignment. The moves show the Mariners trying to keep the roster flexible while making room for a prospect who has earned a long look, and now the question shifts to how quickly Montes can translate that promise once he gets on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Bullpen Gamble Comes With October Stakes
The Mariners made a late-season bullpen move by adding left-handed reliever Hoby Milner to their expanded 28-man September roster after signing him to a minor league contract. To clear space, Seattle designated Connor Joe and Nolan Kingham for assignment, a reminder of how quickly roster decisions get sharpened this time of year with October in view.
Milner arrives with a decade of major league experience and a recent history that includes his last big league appearance in June 2024. For a Mariners bullpen that has struggled lately, the move is less about looking backward than trying to steady things before the games matter even more, with Seattle now carrying another experienced arm into the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]