Tag: Randy Arozarena

Randy Arozarena trade grades: Who won the Mariners – Rays deal?

Let’s grade this trade.

Hey now! We’ve got a trade in Major League Baseball!

As the 2024 trade deadline approaches on Tuesday, July 30, we’ve seen our first major deal with veteran outfielder Randy Arozarena getting dealt from Tampa Bay — where he was a Ray for five years after the Cardinals traded him there in 2020 — to the Seattle Mariners, who are in the mix in the AL West and could use a bat.

So, as usual, we’ll throw out some grades for each of the sides and declare who won or lost this one. Here’s a breakdown of the trade and grades for the Mariners and Rays:

The details of the trade

Mariners get: OF Randy Arozarena

Rays get: RHP Brody Hopkins, OF Aidan Smith and a player to be named later

Seattle Mariners grade

Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Sure, Arozarena isn’t having a great year with a career-low .211 average. But he’s hit 15 dingers, stolen 16 bases, and is generally the sparkplug we know he can be. That’s worth a change-of-scenery trade at a low price.

And it’s that low price — Hopkins and Smith aren’t big names in their system — that has me giving them a solid grade. We’ll see who the player to be named is, but ultimately, bringing in a guy like Arozarena means Seattle is going to go for it and that’s good!

GRADE: A-minus

Tampa Bay Rays grade

I guess we’ll see who the PTBNL is, but when you have a player on a roster that is struggling, who has a contract that runs out at the end of the year, and you’re the Rays with a small payroll, you have to make this trade. I trust the front office more than I do others, so my feeling is they’re getting what they can for Arozarena.

GRADE: B

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Randy Arozarena’s Instagram post with Shohei Ohtani has MLB fans speculating so hard

Does this mean a trade is coming????

This could mean nothing.

Or it could mean … everything?

That’s MLB Hot Stove season for you! Here’s what I’m talking about: Tampa Bay Rays star Randy Arozarena posted a photo of him and Shohei Ohtani from the 2023 World Baseball Classic, with nothing but a caption of their two respective flags and a shoutout of Ohtani.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!?!?

Is this an appreciation of the newly-signed Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher/hitter? Or is it, as some fans are wondering, an indication that a Rays and Dodgers trade is coming to pair the outfielder with Ohtani?

Here’s the post and some speculation:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0x8dI5OGY7/?hl=en&img_index=1

 

 

 

 

Randy Arozarena had a quirky but successful at-bat in which he barely took the bat off his shoulder

This was weird.

This wasn’t quite that six-pitch at-bat in which Bryce Harper barely took the bat off his shoulders.

But it’s something!

Randy Arozarena stepped to the plate in the first inning of the Tampa Bay Rays’ game against the San Francisco Giants and faced off against Ryan Walker. As you’ll see from the video below, he stepped away as one ball whizzed in for a strike. Then, he kept it on his shoulders for the third ball and stepped away for ball four.

He must have known something, or he was daring Walker to throw a strike. Either way, so quirky:

Randy Arozarena’s casual, floating toss to the infield was costly

Not a great play here by the Rays All-Star.

Randy Arozarena will learn from this one.

The thrilling Tampa Bay Rays outfielder fielded a Gunnar Henderson scorcher down the line in left field. It was an easy double for the Baltimore Orioles phenom, who scampered to second with ease.

But Arozarena took his time fielding the ball and then lofted a floater into the infield. Henderson saw it and got into third with a hustle play to get an extra base.

MORE: All MLB Stadiums, ranked

Hey, it happens. You learn from it, that’s all. Kudos to Henderson for recognizing that was happening and taking advantage of it.

Here’s the quirky play in full:

Randy Arozarena did a Dikembe Mutombo finger wag at his pal Adolis Garcia after beating throw

This was so fun.

Randy Arozarena and Texas Rangers star Adolis Garcia are buddies, as we saw at the 2023 MLB All-Star Game.

They were both prospects with the St. Louis Cardinals, so it was great to see them have fun together in Seattle.

This time? They were opponents, as the Tampa Bay Rays star hit a double on Tuesday that was no sure thing. Arozarena slid in safe, but Garcia’s throw nearly beat him. Arozarena had the perfect response, though: He did a Dikembe Mutombo finger wag to Garcia in right field.

MORE: All 30 MLB stadiums, ranked for 2023

Can these two teams please meet in the playoffs so we can get more of this?

Randy Arozarena wore his iconic cowboy boots for his Home Run Derby intro and MLB fans loved it

Randy Arozarena was introduced to the Home Run Derby in style.

Randy Arozarena brought his lucky cowboy boots with him to Seattle.

During the introductions to the 2023 Home Run Derby, Arozarena walked out in style, wearing his iconic lucky cowboy boots to saunter down the runway. If you aren’t aware of Arozarena’s tradition, the Tampa Bay Rays outfielder has a pair of lucky cowboy boots that have been with him since 2017. Arozarena even took batting practice ahead of the World Baseball Classic in his cowboy boots, which ultimately lead to Mexico’s surprise upset of the United States in the round robin.

While Arozarena didn’t wear his cowboy boots to bat during the derby itself, he certainly looked stylish during his introduction!

And hey, the lucky boots paid off! Arozarena advanced to the second round of the Home Run Derby after besting Adolis Garcia in the opening salvo. Later, Arozarena even brought them out during the final round of the night.

Here’s how MLB fans reacted after Arozarena wore his lucky cowboy boots during his Home Run Derby introduction.

Fans ripped John Smoltz’s ‘grandstanding’ remark about Randy Arozarena’s HR-robbing celebration

Why does he hate baseball?

One of the great aspects of the World Baseball Classic has been the opportunity to watch just how much these games mean to the players. Every moment seems extra important, and that pride brings out a personality you just don’t see in many MLB games.

That’s what makes it awfully disappointing that the U.S. audience is stuck with John Smoltz as the Fox color commentator. Smoltz is notoriously old school and often sounds like he’s in physical pain whenever a player dares to flip his bat or show emotion.

That kind of attitude was on display during Monday’s World Baseball Classic semifinal between Japan and Mexico. When Randy Arozarena robbed Kazuma Okamoto of a home run in the fifth inning, Smoltz seemed more annoyed with Arozarena’s fake-out celebration than he was impressed with the actual catch.

Smoltz said that Arozarena was grandstanding — a negative way of describing what had occurred.

In the full exchange, play-by-play announcer Joe Davis asked, “How much fun is Randy Arozarena to watch?” Smoltz was silent before quipping, “Not good for a play-by-play announcer, though.” However, Davis was all over the call as the catch happened live.

It was fine for a play-by-play announcer and actually a great call from Davis.

Smoltz seemingly couldn’t just enjoy a sensational catch and fun moment from one of the WBC’s most entertaining players.

Baseball fans also didn’t appreciate the “grandstanding” remark from Smoltz.

Mexico manager Benji Gil had classiest reaction about ‘everyone winning’ after agonizing loss to Japan

Anyone who loved baseball was a winner Monday night.

After a hard-fought battle in the World Baseball Classic semifinals, Mexico suffered a heartbreaking 6-5 loss to Japan.

Even with Randy Arozarena making an incredible play — leading to a hilarious meme — Japan and walk-off hero Munetaka Murakami ended up clinching a spot in Tuesday’s final. (That Japan-USA matchup will now give us the Tungsten Arm O’Doyle Classic.)

As Mexico fans tried to process the loss in the aftermath, manager Benji Gil kept his reflection on the defeat short and sweet. Did he wish his team came out on top? Of course. Who wouldn’t? But the bigger picture was more important.

Such an instant classic battle was great for the game of baseball and everyone who loves it:

What a classy and entirely truthful response. You know Gil especially meant it, given that his team was the one who fell short. It’s been a fantastic World Baseball Classic. Japan and Mexico gave the baseball world another top-notch episode.

Randy Arozarena’s stone cold reaction after an amazing WBC catch became an instant meme

Absolute robbery from Randy Arozarena!

Now this is one way to celebrate a game-changing catch!

On Monday, the World Baseball Classic semifinal was well underway between Mexico and Japan. Mexico held a 3-0 lead after Luis Urías hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning, but Japan was still getting chances.

In the bottom of the fifth, Kazuma Okamoto skied a deep ball out to left field that looked to be a sure-fire home run to crack things open for Japan. Randy Arozarena had other ideas, however, as he jumped up to snag the ball before it could land on the other side of the fence.

Arozarena’s celebration of the game-changing moment? A stone-cold reaction befitting anything but robbing a home run at the World Baseball Classic.

And here’s another angle of that catch, just for fun.

Even more hilarious was Arozarena during Mexico’s pitching change right after, as the outfielder was signing autographs mere moments after his incredible catch.

As expected, Arozarena’s stone-cold reaction became an instant meme on Twitter.

Red Sox pitcher Jake Diekman might have brilliantly baited the Rays into an out at home

Lucky or genius?

Red Sox relief pitcher Jake Diekman had an afternoon to forget on Sunday. He had a costly wild pitch. He gave up a home run. He only lasted .2 innings. But amid all that frustration, he might have unleashed the boldest of gamesmanship on the Tampa Bay Rays.

The first pitch Diekman threw in relief against the Tampa Bay Rays was a wild pitch with Kevin Kiermaier on third and Randy Arozarena on second. Kiermaier slid in to score easily, but you have to watch how Diekman handled the sequence.

As Kiermaier dove into home, Diekman hopped over the Rays outfielder and walked towards the backstop with his back turned towards home plate. The broadcast was convinced that he fell asleep on the play. Did Diekman just completely forget the situation …. or did he mean to bait Arozarena into aggressive baserunning?

Watching it live, it did seem like Diekman just stopped paying attention. But as a reliever entering the game with runners on base, he had to know the situation. After all, he only threw one pitch. It wouldn’t have made much sense for him to pout behind the plate if he didn’t know exactly what he was doing.

If it was gamesmanship, it worked to perfection because Diekman was able to tag Arozarena out at home to end the inning. The fist pump from catcher Christian Vazquez also kind of made it look like they were in on the trick.

It didn’t appear that Diekman was asked about the play after the game, so we don’t know if there was actually intent behind it. But if there was, you have to respect that boldness in the moment — even if the rest of the outing was forgettable.

The Rays ended up winning, 5-2, on Sunday to take the series.

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