The MLB Trade Deadline is approaching this week and the Seattle Mariners have made a move to help their offense. ESPN’s Jeff Passan is reporting that the Mariners and the Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to trade outfielder Randy Arozarena in exchange for outfielder Aidan Smith, right-hander Brody Hopkins and a player to be named later late Thursday night. The Seattle Mariners have been looking for a replacement for outfielder Jarred Kelenic after trading him in the offseason and it seems like for the time being, they have found that answer offensively.
Let’s take a look as to how this trade will affect the Seattle Mariners as we will not know much about the Rays’ package for another few years.
What does this trade mean for the Seattle Mariners going forward?
The Seattle Mariners have been absolutely terrible at the plate this season as they are currently 28th in the majors with a .660 team OPS, so adding Randy Arozarena to the middle of the lineup will certainly help the offense get going more. Arozarena may be struggling a bit this season with a .211/.318/.394 slash line with 15 home runs, 37 RBIs and 16 stolen bases but he will immediately be a solid player in T-Mobile Park.
This move also helps the Mariners in the future as Randy Arozarena is not eligible to become an unrestricted free agent until after the 2026 season, meaning he could be with the Mariners for another 2.5 years. With center fielder Julio Rodriguez and shortstop JP Crawford on the Injured List right now, this adds some more life to the lineup but he will be manning left field and doing it well.
The Mariners are currently on the outside of the playoffs looking in as their 53-51 record is second in the AL West behind the Houston Astros by one game and are 3.5 games back of the final AL Wild Card spot. They are on a cold stretch, losing eight of their last 10 games, so this could be a sign that things are turning around. With a potential outfield of Arozarena, Rodriguez and Mitch Haniger, this outfield could be one of the top in the majors when things are clicking.
This Seattle Mariners team has bolstered their roster with this move and now could have their own version of Randy Land in the left field section of T-Mobile Park. With the pitching this team has, it should be enough to get Seattle back into the postseason. They made a move before the trade deadline and could be primed to make another.
