Randy

Arozarena

Arozarena hit two homers Saturday in the comeback victory over the Cubs — including the walk-off — and he went deep to leadoff the game for the second day in the row. That gave Seattle a 1-0 lead, and they were outscored 19-1 from that point on. Arozarena has enjoyed a very solid (probably last) season with the Mariners with 20 homers, 58 RBI and an .836 OPS.

Arozarena led off the game with a solo homer off David Peterson. He then helped Seattle starter Kade Anderson with a spectacular home run robbery in the third inning before drawing a walk. With a runner on, down by one, and two outs in the ninth inning, he bookended the game with another homer, delivering the walk-off blast off Jacob Webb. The 31-year-old outfielder is up to 19 homers, 83 runs scored, and 20 steals while slashing .275/.369/.463 across 526 plate appearances.

As a team, the M’s were only able to muster seven hits and two walks off of Framber Valdez and company with Arozarena the only player in the lineup to reach base twice. The 31-year-old outfielder is having another solid season at the dish, slashing .285/.379/.456 with 14 homers, 49 RBI and 20 stolen bases.

The Mariners scored in three innings today, and Arozarena was a driving force each time; he walked and scored in the first, homered in the second and then doubled to lead off the ninth before scoring on a fielder’s choice to end the game. He’s up to 14 homers, six of which have come in his last 23 games.

Divish and Jude add that Seattle is also listening on starter George Kirby, which was reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan earlier on Saturday. The fact that the Mariners are willing to consider moving Arozarena is a notable development as they sit three games out of the AL West division lead and a Wild Card playoff spot. The 31-year-old impending free agent would be one of the strongest right-handed bats available on the trade market. Where Seattle sits in the standings leading into Monday’s deadline is going to be the deciding factor whether they buy or sell.

Arozarena was nearly 5-for-5 in producing hard-hit balls today, with his 94.4-mph groundout in the second barely missing out. At .284/.379/.448, he’s having an exceptional walk year as he approaches free agency for the first time. He hit .229/.333/.408 between 2024 and ’25.

Arozarena tagged Marlins right-hander Janson Junk for a 414-foot (104.4-mph EV) solo shot in the fifth inning that pulled the Mariners to within four runs at 6-2. That would be his only hit in three at-bats in the ballgame, though he drew a pair of walks as well. The dynamic 31-year-old outfielder is slashing a healthy .287/.380/.455 to go along with 10 homers, 42 RBI and 19 stolen bases on the season.

Arozarena also walked and scored three times. He had been 0-for-9 with the bases loaded this year before hitting the first grand slam ever surrendered by Shane Bieber. It was his ninth homer through the Mariners’ 90th game, so he’ll need to pick up the pace a little in order to collect his sixth straight 20/20 season. The steals won’t be an issue; he’s already 19-for-23 there.

Arozarena’s home run was his eighth of the season. He hit a three-run shot off Shawn Armstrong in the eighth inning. With the Mariners trying to make a comeback in the bottom of the eighth, Arozarena blasted a three-run home run. The home run is his first in five games since returning from the injured list. He’s hitting .288 with an .826 OPS and 36 RBI.

J.P. Crawford has been dropped to sixth. The Mariners are facing a left-hander in Joey Cantillo tonight, so this might not be a full-time change. The Mariners have had big problems with lefties this season, and though Arozarena is a righty, he, like most of the rest of the team, has performed better against righties this year (.828 OPS to .738). Arozarena spent a chunk of last season as a leadoff man, but he was dropped to the middle of the order this year with newcomer Brandon Donovan expected to leadoff regularly.