Jonathan

Aranda

Most likely, if a Rays first baseman/DH is going to make the All-Star team, it’ll be Yandy Díaz. Aranda, though, has a case; he’s tied for the 11th in the majors with his 48 RBI, and he’s 21st with his .377 OBP. Interestingly, he’s come in at .376 there against lefties, but all of his power has come versus righties; he’s slugging .503 against them and .329 versus lefties.

Aranda has been a constant for Tampa Bay in 2026, but the 28-year-old will get a rare breather against southpaw Payton Tolle on Tuesday. Ryan Vilade will get the start at first base and hit cleanup while Aranda rests.

Aranda’s homer was his 11th this year. Formerly a platoon bat, he’s morphed into one of Tampa Bay’s primary everyday hitters in 2026. The 28-year-old greatly improved his walk rate from a season ago, helping him maintain an OBP north of .390 as May comes to a close.

Aranda extended his on-base streak to eight games with another solid showing. Ironically, he had two of the four hardest hits in a game which his Rays lost 11-2. Those are the breaks sometimes. On the season, he has a .286 batting average, .860 OPS, nine home runs, and 41 RBI in a tremendous encore to his breakout last season.

Aranda helped the Rays take a 1-0 lead in the first inning when he drove in Chandler Simpson with one of his three singles. It was his 41st RBI, which leads the league. Aranda is hitting .278 with an .847 OPS. He seems poised to make his second All-Star team this year.

Aranda has been one of the more impactful middle-of-the-order run producers this season with a whopping 32 RBI through 40 contests. The 27-year-old first baseman delievered a sacrifice fly and a run-scoring single before taking Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman deep in the fifth inning for his eighth round-tripper of the year. He’s been on fire recently, hitting .346 (18-for-52) with two homers and 11 RBI over his last 15 games.

Aranda started against each of the other four southpaws that the Rays faced this week, but he’ll grab a seat on the bench for Sunday’s series finale against Payton Tolle. Ryan Vilade will start in his place at first base and will bat fifth for the Rays on Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park.

There’s not much to say here. Aranda was responsible for one of the Rays’ four hits on the night, all of which were singles as the Red Sox held them in check all evening. Aranda is slashing an impressive .444/.516/.481 in the early part of May, but has just one extra-base hit and four RBI to show for his efforts.

Aranda collected base hits in the first, sixth, and eighth innings before the game went to extras tied at 1-1. He delivered with his fourth hit of the game, driving in Chandler Simpson to walk it off for the Rays. The 27-year-old first baseman is hitting .252/.352/.462 with seven homers, 17 runs scored, and 28 RBI across 142 plate appearances.

Aranda’s .228/.336/.447 line isn’t anything special, but he’s tied for fifth in the majors with 27 RBI. He’d surely have a higher slash line if he weren’t playing against left-handers, but those extra at-bats, even if they’re not particularly good ones, are worth the tradeoff.