Randy Arozarena’s farewell salute on Sunday had the look of a man who already knows where this is headed.
After Dan Wilson’s ouster loomed over an emotional day at T-Mobile Park, the Mariners still managed to create a few real goodbye moments in Game 162. Wilson sent both Arozarena and J.P.
Crawford - each a pending free agent - out early, and both were met with loud, deserved ovations. Arozarena then added his own message when he reached the dugout: he saluted, pointed to the “S” on his cap, and saluted again.
Maybe that was just a thank-you. The Mariners can still bring him back, and they’d have every reason to want to after the season he put together. Arozarena led Seattle with 5.5 rWAR, 26 home runs and an .865 OPS.
Still, the gesture sure read like something more final.
Randy Arozarena (@RandyArozarena) September 27, 2026
Arozarena is a free agent now, and a nine-figure deal feels like the floor for what he’ll chase. Seattle, as the thinking goes, may not be eager to go there for a player in his 30s. And he might prefer the East Coast anyway.
That doesn’t erase what he gave the Mariners over his two-plus seasons in Seattle. It wasn’t spotless - there was the .574 OPS in the 2025 playoffs, the issue with Cal Raleigh in the World Baseball Classic this year, and stretches where the effort wasn’t always there. But the production was real, too.
He was a two-time All-Star. He piled up 10.5 rWAR, the third-best total ever by a Mariners left fielder. And this year, he was the most watchable thing about the team on a night-to-night basis, right down to that game in August.
If this is the end, Arozarena has every right to chase every dollar available. A contract below $100 million would be a surprise, and $150 million feels closer to the mark.
The Mariners may not be the team that pays it. But if Arozarena is headed elsewhere, Seattle fans seem likely to remember him fondly anyway. Even in another uniform, he should still get the kind of welcome that tells him he mattered here.
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For Seattle, the timing is worth watching because the division picture keeps shifting in the background while other familiar names face uncertainty of their own. Angels manager Kurt Suzukis future remains unsettled, J.P. Crawford is still dealing with injury issues as free agency approaches, and the Astros are weighing Lucas Spences recent form as they sort out their postseason plans. In a division where front-office moves can ripple quickly, Oaklands next hire could end up mattering beyond one clubs search. [Read more 🡒]