The Mariners have avoided arbitration with Randy Arozarena, as first reported by Francys Romero. The left fielder will earn $11.3MM in 2025, slightly less than his projected $11.7MM salary (per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz). He will be eligible for arbitration once more ahead of the 2026 campaign.
Arozarena, 30 in February, is coming off the least productive season of his MLB career. Entering the 2024 campaign, the former AL Rookie of the Year had a career .802 OPS and 127 wRC+ in just over 2000 trips to the plate. In 2024, his OPS dropped to a career-worst .720, while his wRC+ fell to a career-worst 114. Those are still above-average numbers, to be clear, but a step back from his All-Star-caliber performances of the past.
On the bright side, Arozarena hit significantly better after a deadline trade from the Rays to the Mariners, raising his wRC+ from 109 to 122. Interestingly, the biggest difference between his numbers with Tampa Bay and Seattle was his batting average on balls in play (BABIP). He actually struck out more often and hit for less power with the Mariners, but his BABIP increased from .249 to .323. That could be good news for Arozarena, who came into the year with a career .331 BABIP, far higher than his overall .275 BABIP in 2024. If more of his batted balls drop for hits in 2025, he could get back to being a far more productive hitter once again.
Even in a down year, Arozarena hit 20 home runs and stole 20 bases, achieving his fourth straight 20/20 season. He also ranked among the top five qualified AL batters with an 11.3% walk rate. On top of that, he reached 600 plate appearances for the fourth year in a row. Since his debut in 2019, his only two stints on the injured list have been due to COVID-19 protocols. An outfielder who can play every day while offering a rare combination of power, speed, and plate discipline is a valuable player indeed; he’d command far more than $11.3MM on the open market. He will certainly be valuable to the Mariners, who need as much offense as they can get. Seattle’s pitching staff is among the best in the league, but the bats failed to support the arms last season. That’s precisely why the M’s brought Arozarena in at the deadline. They’ll be counting on him to continue producing at the plate in 2025.
Okay. Nice to see that the lights seem to be on at Mariner offices. Wish they’d go on inside management’s and ownership’s collective head. What a waste of pitching.
Lights might be on, but nobody’s home?
So make the ball park fair for batters, and then wonder what happened to the elite pitching.
I feel like Arozarena came out of nowhere and immediately established who he is as a player and has already peaked and plateaued. He is likely a 1.0 to 2.5 WAR player- so if you consider him to generally be a 2.75 WAR-ish player (I’m taking the under of an over under average here) and he will provide you around 20-ish HR’s and around 60+ RBI’s…. that’s what it is.
His value ceiling is likely around $21M AAV if someone values him at a max level.- but again he was a late bloomer who’s likely already in the latter half of his prime if not the beginning of his decline.
Like- he could very well be DFA’d before his final year of arbitration….
3 years/$50M w/ a $4M buyout on a $20M club option would likely be a *very* fair offer for his free agency… or, if his final year of arbitration was bought out, 4 years/$65M w/ a $5M buyout on a $20M option.
$3.7M signing bonus: $11.3M (2025), $15M (2026), $17.5M (2027), $17.5M (2028), $5M buyout on $20M club option.
“The left fielder will earn $11.3MM in 2025, slightly less than his projected $11.7MM salary”
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Does it count as our first major league move of the offseason???
Arozerana’s batting average has dropped every year since his rookie year. Players aren’t supposed to regress their way into their prime
Might have to do with teams not paying for batting average. Swing for the fences and teams pay regardless of average. Just ask Schwarber.
As a Mariners fan this is finally a bit of slightly happy news. I used to be an annoying positive fan and ownership has even lost me. My apologies to people who knew better. I’ve only been a fan since 2007. Forgive me