However, instead of making a beeline for Seattle, Arozarena made the rare gesture of soaking in some last moments with Rays fans, sitting in the stands for the team’s game against the Reds at Tropicana Field on Friday night.
The Rays announcers Dewayne Staats and Brian Anderson were in awe of the move.
Randy Arozarena was spotted hanging out in the stands at the Rays-Mariners game on July 26, 2024. Screengrab
“That’s Randy,” Anderson, the color commentator, said, as covered by Awful Announcing . “Randy Arozarena with the family in the stan — OK, that’s weird. You know, seeing Zach Eflin in an Orioles uniform was weird. This is next-level weird.”
“I’ve never seen that,” Staats, the play-by-play broadcaster, said. “You know, collectively, we’ve been around the game a few months. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Anderson said what everyone was thinking: “Usually, Seattle’s like, ‘You’re on your way, right?’”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that before like that,” reiterated Staats.
"I've never seen anything like that." – Bally Sports Sun's Dewayne Staats on Randy Arozarena hanging around in the stands to cheer on his now-former team pic.twitter.com/aKFWSHIpDZ
Anderson, who pitched for the Angels, Cleveland, Diamondbacks and Royals during an MLB career that spanned from 1993 through 2005, spoke about how jarring midseason trades could be.
“You can imagine what his emotions were when he found out,” he said.
“There wasn’t a lot of — the rumors weren’t swirling. We were stuck on the plane. We got off the plane and there’s the news. It was very surreal.”
Tampa Bay Rays’ Randy Arozarena (56) hits an RBI single against the Toronto Blue Jays during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Wednesday, July 24, 2024. AP
The Rays received outfielder Aidan Smith and pitcher Brody Hopkins in return for Arozarena.
Arozarena, the 2021 AL Rookie of the Year and a 2023 All-Star, entered Saturday batting .211 with 15 home runs, 37 RBIs and a .712 OPS this season.
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