Randy Arozarena

Randy Lia Arozarena González (born February 28, 1995) is a Cuban-born Mexican professional baseball outfielder for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays. He has represented Mexico in international baseball competitions after previously playing for Cuban youth teams.

Arozarena moved from Cuba to Mexico in 2015, then signed with the Cardinals in 2016. He made his MLB debut in 2019 and was traded to the Rays before the 2020 season. That year, Arozarena set the MLB record with 10 home runs in a single postseason. Four of those came against the Houston Astros in the 2020 American League Championship Series, netting him series MVP honors. The following year, he won the AL Rookie of the Year award. He was named to his first All-Star Game in 2023, where he started in left field.

Professional career

Cuban and Mexican career

During the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons, Arozarena played for Vegueros de Pinar del Río of the Cuban National Series. In his final season, he slashed .291/.412/.419 with three home runs, 24 runs batted in (RBI), and 15 stolen bases in 74 games played.

In 2015, Arozarena defected from Cuba to Mexico on a small boat. He had brief stints in the Mérida Winter League, the Norte de México League, and with the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League in 2016, before playing for the Mayos de Navojoa of the Mexican Pacific League in the winter after the 2016 season.

St. Louis Cardinals

Minor leagues

Arozarena signed with St. Louis Cardinals as an international free agent on August 1, 2016, for $1.25 million. He debuted in the United States 2017 with the Palm Beach Cardinals, with whom he was named a Florida State League All-Star, before advancing to the Springfield Cardinals at the beginning of July. He had a combined .266 batting average with 11 home runs, 49 RBI, and 18 stolen bases over 121 games with both clubs. Following the season, he returned to the Mayos de Navojoa, where he slashed .292/.366/.558 and led the Mexican Pacific League with 14 home runs in 65 games. The Mayos made it to the championship series. Although the team did not win the series, Arozarena had a game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 6.

Arozarena was a non-roster invitee to the Cardinals' 2018 spring training. He began the season with the Memphis Redbirds. In July, he was selected to the 2018 All-Star Futures Game. Arozarena also played 24 games in the middle of the season down with Springfield. He helped Memphis win the Pacific Coast League (PCL) title and was named a co-MVP of the PCL playoffs alongside teammate Tommy Edman. Over 113 games between Memphis and Springfield, he batted .274/.359/.433 with 12 home runs, 49 RBI, and 26 stolen bases. Arozarena played a third season of winter baseball for Mayos de Navojoa in 2018, appearing in only 15 games.

2019 season

Arozarena began the 2019 season on the injured list after he suffered a fractured hand during spring training. He returned to action in May with Springfield before being promoted back to Memphis in June.

On August 12, 2019, the Cardinals selected Arozarena's contract and promoted him to the major leagues. He made his major league debut on August 14 against the Kansas City Royals. He was sent down to Memphis on August 20 but returned to St. Louis on September 3. In 19 games with St. Louis, Arozarena hit .300 with one home run, two RBIs, and two stolen bases. He came off the bench in five Cardinals postseason games, going 0-for-4 and getting hit by a pitch after sticking his elbow into an off-speed pitch from Aníbal Sánchez.

Tampa Bay Rays

2020 season

On January 9, 2020, Arozarena was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays, along with José Martínez and the Cardinals’ competitive balance round A draft pick, for Matthew Liberatore, Edgardo Rodriguez, and the Rays’ competitive balance round B draft pick. Arozarena started the shortened 2020 season on the COVID-19 minor league injured list, joining the Rays on August 30. Over 23 games in the regular season, Arozarena batted .281 with seven home runs and 11 RBIs.

Arozarena took off in the expanded 2020 postseason. He had three extra base hits and scored three runs in the two-game Wild Card Series, then batted .429 with 3 home runs in the five-game American League Division Series win over the New York Yankees. In Game 7 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) against the Houston Astros, Arozarena hit a two-run home run, passing former Ray Evan Longoria for the most home runs by a rookie in a postseason. Arozarena was named the MVP of the ALCS, the first rookie position player to win the award. In the series, he hit .321 with four home runs and six RBIs. Arozarena then hit home runs in Game 3, 4, and 6 of the World Series, breaking the all-time record for most home runs in a single postseason. In Game 3, he surpassed Derek Jeter for most hits by a rookie in the postseason. In Game 5, he recorded his 27th hit in the postseason, surpassing Pablo Sandoval for the most hits in a single postseason. Arozarena attributed his playoff power stroke to wearing a special pair of lucky cowboy boots, which he calls his "power boots."

2021 season

For the 2021 season, Arozarena batted .274/.356/.459 with 20 home runs, 69 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases in 141 games. His on-base plus slugging (OPS) was 29 percent above league average. In Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Boston Red Sox, Arozarena became the first player to hit a home run and steal home in the same playoff game. Arozarena won the AL Rookie of the Year Award, the first Ray to do so since Wil Myers in 2013.

2022 season

In 2022, Arozarena stole 32 bases, tied for third in the majors, but he also led the major leagues by being caught stealing 12 times. He batted .269/.344/.463 with 20 home runs and an OPS 24 percent better than the MLB average.

2023 season

The Rays created a "Randy Land" fan seating section behind Arozarena in left field early in the 2023 season. Arozarena was voted by fans to be a starting outfielder in the MLB All-Star Game, his first All-Star Game selection. He also competed in the Home Run Derby, losing to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the final round. On August 12, Arozarena hit a walk-off single against Emmanuel Clase. On August 31, Arozarena stole third base against the Miami Marlins and became the first MLB player to record three straight 20–20 seasons to begin his career. He finished the season with a career-high 23 home runs and 80 walks, batting .254/.364/.425 with 22 stolen bases. He went 3-for-8 in the Wild Card Series, as the Rays were swept in two games by the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers.

2024 season

Arozarena slumped to start 2024, batting .158 at the end of May. With the Rays in last place in mid-June, rumors of the team looking to trade Arozarena began to spread. His hitting improved somewhat, and he hit .211/.318/.394 with 15 home runs in 100 games for the Rays. In five seasons with Tampa Bay, Arozarena hit .255 with 85 home runs and 94 stolen bases.

Arozarena is the Rays' franchise leader with 59 hit by pitches, one ahead of Brandon Guyer, and ranks in the top 10 in many offensive categories, including home runs, stolen bases, and OPS. He also holds many Rays postseason records, including most hits, home runs, and total bases, batting .349 in 28 games.

Seattle Mariners

On July 25, 2024, Arozarena was traded to the Seattle Mariners for Brody Hopkins, Aidan Smith and Ty Cummings. Arozarena said goodbye to Rays fans in "Randy Land" following the trade. Arozarena hit his 20th home run on September 15, completing his fourth consecutive 20–20 season. Combined with the Rays and Mariners in 2024, Arozarena slashed .254/.346/.436 with the 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases as well as 60 RBI in 648 plate appearances. He tied for the lowest line drive percentage in MLB, at 14.4 percent.

International career

Before his defection, Arozarena represented his home country of Cuba at the youth level, playing in the 2011 U-16 Baseball World Cup and the 2013 U-18 Baseball World Cup in Taichung, where Cuba won the bronze medal.

Arozarena announced his intention to play for Mexico in 2020, saying "I feel like I represent Mexico. I have a daughter in Mexico, and I’d do it in honor of her and for the part of my career that I spent in Mexico, and for all the friends I’ve made in Mexico.” In October 2022, MLB announced that Arozarena would play for Mexico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Arozarena was named the most valuable player of Pool C in the tournament, besting Mike Trout. In the semifinal game against Japan, Arozarena hit a double to score the go-ahead run and made several timely catches, including a "home-run robbery" from Kazuma Okamoto. However, Mexico would lose the game on a walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth inning. Arozarena led Mexico in many offensive categories, batting .450/.607/.900 with six doubles, one home run, and nine RBIs in the tournament. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called Arozarena a "phenomenon" for his tournament performance. Arozarena was named to the All-WBC team; he and Trea Turner were the only unanimous selections. Arozarena received his all-tournament award from Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard at a Rays game on May 21, 2023.

Personal life

Arozarena was born in Cuba, growing up in the neighborhood of Arroyos de Mantua. As a child, he first played soccer before committing to baseball as a 12-year-old because he could earn money playing it. Shortly after his father Jesús died, he fled Cuba in June 2015 on a small, broken boat, traveling eight or nine hours to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, where he established residency before signing his first MLB contract.

Arozarena is married to Cenelia Pinedo Blanco and has two daughters, one of whom was born in Mexico in 2018. On November 23, 2020, Arozarena was arrested in Mexico's Yucatán state after allegedly trying to kidnap his daughter from her mother and assaulting the woman's father. He was released two days later as the child's mother did not press charges. Arozarena's second daughter was born in 2021.

Fellow Cuban outfielder Adolis García is the godfather of one of Arozarena's daughters. The two outfielders were teammates and roommates in the Cardinals minor league system, and Arozarena described Garcia as "kind of like my brother" in 2023. The two friends both started in the outfield in the 2023 All-Star Game, after Arozarena bested Garcia in the Home Run Derby.

Arozarena's younger brother is soccer player Raiko Arozarena, currently a goalkeeper for the Cuban national team and the Las Vegas Lights of the USL Championship. His family also includes his mother Sandra and his other younger brother Ronny.

In 2020, a film based on Arozarena's life was being developed with an estimated release in 2022 or 2023. Arozarena confirmed in 2023 that the film had fallen through but said he still wanted to make a movie about his life.

Arozarena became a Mexican citizen in 2022, prior to representing the country in international baseball.

Arozarena loves soccer and is a fan of Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo.

See also

*List of baseball players who defected from Cuba
* List of Major League Baseball players from Cuba
* Tampa Bay Rays award winners and league leaders

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Arozarena, Randy
1995 births
Living people
American League All-Stars
American League Championship Series MVPs
Baseball players from Havana
Cuban emigrants to Mexico
Cuban expatriate baseball players in Mexico
Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States
Defecting Cuban baseball players
Major League Baseball outfielders
Major League Baseball players from Cuba
Major League Baseball players from Mexico
21st-century Mexican sportsmen
Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners
Mayos de Navojoa players
Memphis Redbirds players
Mexican people of Cuban descent
Naturalized citizens of Mexico
Palm Beach Cardinals players
Seattle Mariners players
Springfield Cardinals players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Tampa Bay Rays players
Toros de Tijuana players
Vegueros de Pinar del Rio players
2023 World Baseball Classic players
World Baseball Classic players of Mexico