Mariners Need to Prepare for Life Without Randy Arozarena After Latest Free Agency Prediction

Seattle needs a Plan B with a bat.

Sep 19, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Seattle Mariners outfielder Randy Arozarena (56) watches a home run in the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Mariners can hope that Randy Arozarena stays. But they also know they need to prepare for what their 2027 lineup looks like without him. He has easily become one of the hardest bats to replace.

Seattle Times beat reporter Ryan Divish brought that problem into focus on Foul Territory. He expects Arozarena to prefer the East Coast and guessed Boston could be ready to pay him handsomely. It’s just a prediction. The Red Sox haven’t announced any kind of serious interest. Regardless of where he goes, the Mariners need to be prepared.

Randy Arozarena’s 2026 Surge Raises the Stakes for the Mariners

His first 54 games after the 2024 trade were uninspiring. He posted a .231 average, five home runs and a .733 OPS. In his first full Mariners season, he hit only .238, but supplied 27 homers and 31 steals. He kept producing even when the hits were harder to find.

This year, the whole line has changed. Entering Sept. 22, Arozarena is slashing .279/.376/.481 with 26 homers, 106 runs, 23 steals and an .857 OPS. Compared with 2025, his average is up 41 points, his OBP 42 points and his slugging 55 points. He has nearly matched last year’s career high in homers while reaching base more often.

Now put that beside Seattle’s .232/.312/.380 team batting line. Arozarena is 64 points ahead in OBP and 101 points ahead in slugging. If he walks, the Mariners lose a right-handed bat who gets aboard, hits for power and still runs.

What Arozarena Has Done at Fenway Park

Boston is easy to picture because Arozarena has already hit well at Fenway. In 32 career games there, he’s slashed .278/.351/.481 with five home runs and 19 RBI with a 135 wRC+ in those games, meaning his offense has been 35 percent above league average after adjusting for park. He also homered in consecutive games there during Seattle’s visit at the turn of September.

Thirty-two games cannot tell us what he would do over a full season with the Red Sox. The numbers do tell us he can handle that setting. His .481 career slugging percentage at Fenway even matches his .481 mark across this entire season. There’s no reason to sell a home run surge. But we can see the potential. Arozarena can turn on a pitch and drive it toward the Green Monster, where hard contact can become a double off the wall or a ball can fly over it. He has spent half his games trying to produce at T-Mobile Park. Fenway would be a much friendlier setting for half of his games. Also, being in the same division with the Yankees stadium could also help pile his stats.

The East Coast idea has a personal thread, too. Arozarena became a star with Tampa Bay and spent his last night as a Ray among the fans in Randy Land. We can wonder whether the Rays ever explore a reunion.

The Mariners should make Arozarena a serious offer. His age and below-average outfield grades give them a reason to be careful about the number of years. Divish doubts Seattle will chase Boston through a bidding war, and we understand why the club would set a limit. We will judge that limit alongside the plan for the lineup it leaves behind.

If Arozarena signs elsewhere, Seattle needs another proven bat and a credible answer in left field. The club should know which young players can compete for the job and what production it still has to acquire. Planning for life without Randy starts with admitting exactly how much Randy has given the Mariners.