Could the Tampa Bay Rays trade Randy Arozarena?
A lot of the Rays’ recent success has come from slugger Randy Arozarena. The outfielder has made a name for himself in MLB and the World Baseball Classic. His popularity and skillset have led to teams wanting to trade for him.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, multiple teams have reached out to inquire about Arozarena. The Rays aren’t interested in trading him, but it’s worth keeping an eye on as his price tag goes up.
The 28-year-old has been a cornerstone for Tampa Bay since 2020. He was a major reason the Rays made it to the World Series during the COVID year, and was named ALCS MVP in 2020 as a rookie.
The former rookie of the year has hit 70 home runs and stolen 78 bases in his time with the Rays. Arozarena sports a career wRC+ of 128 and continues to improve his walk rate. From 2022-2023, Arozarena improved his walk rate from 9.5 to 12.2 percent.
The outfielder made his name known nationally in the WBC this past year with Team Mexico. He carried an entire country on his back through the game of baseball. He’s one of those players you just have to root for.
The Rays aren’t breaking the bank on Arozarena. However, that price tag will continue to shoot up; for perspective, MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects he’ll make about $9 million in 2024. That’s not a lot for the Rays, but they aren’t known for giving lucrative contracts.
I don’t doubt that the Rays will be a bit hesitant to start that back up again as well. After the whole situation with Wander Franco, paying Arozarena might not be on the books.
Even if the Rays don’t pay up, Arozarena will be a huge factor on any team. Both he and Adolis Garcia were nobodies with the Cardinals until they became stars elsewhere. The Rays still have a few years left of contention, so the star outfielder shouldn’t go anywhere.
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