Randy Arozarena Is the Mariners’ Underrated Star

Who comes to mind when you first think of the 2025 Seattle Mariners? You know, the team that’s now leading the AL Wild Card race and is just one game behind the Astros for the AL West lead.

Most would probably start with Cal Raleigh. That’s not surprising considering this year’s home run derby champ is leading the AL in homers (45) and RBIs (98) and is on pace for historic numbers for a catcher.

Others may go with Julio Rodríguez. The 2022 AL Rookie of the Year and All-Star in three of four career seasons is just 24 and one of the most exciting players in the game.

Pitching aficionados might first think of one of the team’s excellent hurlers. Bryan Woo leads the way for the starting rotation this year as he earned his first career All-Star appearance earlier this season.

Joining him was Andrés Muñoz. He’s been one of the top closers in the AL the last two years and is second in MLB among qualified relievers with a 1.37 ERA.

Raleigh is the leader of the squad. He paces his teammates statistically and is a leading candidate for the 2025 AL MVP, along with reigning winner Aaron Judge of the Yankees.

This team is where it is not just because of him, though, but because of an excellent supporting cast on both sides of the ball. That includes a 30-year-old outfielder who is somewhat quietly having arguably the best season of his career.

Randy Arozarena Is Seattle’s Underrated Star

Perhaps it’s because he’s only been a member of the Mariners for just over a year. Perhaps it’s because a down year dropped him off the radar. Either way, outfielder Randy Arozarena probably deserves more credit than he’s getting.

The seven-year MLB vet is in the midst of an excellent season, slashing .250/.352/.468 with 23 homers, 57 RBIs, 69 runs scored, and 22 stolen bases. His 3.2 fWAR and 135 wRC+ are third on the team behind Raleigh and Rodríguez.

That’s the Arozarena that Mariners fans were hoping to see when the team acquired him at last year’s deadline.

At one point, the thought of Arozarena even being in this position seemed unimaginable. He had been a staple of the Tampa Bay Rays lineup for years and was one of the more consistent MLB outfielders in that time.

Traded to Tampa in the 2020 Matthew Liberatore deal, Arozarena made a quick impact in his new home. Though he would play in just 23 games for the team in the COVID-shortened season, he absolutely went off in the team’s run to the World Series, slashing .337/.442/.831 with 10 homers while also winning the ALCS MVP, solidifying himself as the team’s new star.

His .274/.356/.459 slash line, 127 wRC+, and 3.9 fWAR the following season earned him 22 of 30 first-place votes en route to the 2021 AL Rookie of the Year Award. He would continue to be one of the more consistent AL outfielders over the next two seasons.

Then came 2024. Arozarena, often a slow starter, couldn’t quite get into his groove for the year, even as the trade deadline drew near. That left the Rays with a question that they always find themselves answering: retain one of their top players of the last few years or trade him while they could get a big return?

Even though his remaining two and a half years of team control were appealing, his price tag in his arbitration years would only continue to rise. Thus, Tampa Bay opted for the latter option. And the Mariners were glad to take him off the Rays’ hands.

The change of scenery seemed to help. Arozarena increased his average by 20 points, his OBP by 38 points, and his OPS by 21 points after moving from Tampa to Seattle. The Mariners would just miss out on a playoff spot, but they now had one of the top outfielders of the 2020s in tow for 2025.

And a top outfielder is exactly what Arozarena has been once again this season. He ranks third among AL outfielders in runs scored, fifth in fWAR, and sixth in home runs.

He’s accomplished this by doing the right things at the plate. While he currently has the highest hard-hit rate of his career at 52.3%, his in-zone contact rate, chase rate, and whiff rate are all better than his career averages.

He’s yet another reason why the Mariners are one of the hottest teams in baseball. At the very least, they’re the hottest team in the AL, as they’ve won seven straight and nine of their last 10.

The Mariners are doing well to set themselves up for their first playoff appearance since 2023 and third since 2000. If they make it, it won’t just be because of their obvious names but because of their underrated star as well.