Arozarena homers twice in Rays' walk-off

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays organization has been known for its development of young starting pitching. Because of that, Tampa Bay is usually reluctant to include top pitching prospects in any trades.

But when the Rays had an opportunity to trade for Randy Arozarena in the offseason, the front office didn’t hesitate in accepting a deal, even if it meant losing one of its top pitching prospects in Matthew Liberatore.

In the Rays’ 5-4 walk-off win over the Marlins in 10 innings on Sunday at Tropicana Field, Arozarena showed why the organization was thrilled when it acquired him from the Cardinals, launching two solo home runs for the first time in his big league career. Arozarena became the fourth Cuban-born player with a multi-HR game with the Rays, joining Yandy Díaz, Yunel Escobar and Jose Canseco, who did it twice.

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“He’s certainly a talented player,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “We have a bunch of talented players and with Randy, we’re getting ready to know him on the fly, but the first impressions have had a lot to like. He goes up there and has a knack for finding the barrel and just can do a lot of special things.”

Arozarena’s first year with the Rays hasn’t been the easiest. The 25-year-old spent Spring Training trying to familiarize himself with his new teammates and was still getting accustomed to the coaching staff while also navigating through the language barrier. Arozarena then received a positive COVID-19 test during intake testing, forcing him to miss the entire Summer Camp.

To make things even more difficult for Arozarena, he received a positive test for a month straight even though he was asymptomatic. The positive test restricted Arozarena to a small apartment as he abided by CDC recommendations, and it forced the Rays to look elsewhere for an Opening Day outfielder.

“I talked with my family a lot and they really supported me,” Arozarena said in Spanish. “It’s a process that has a lot of uncertainties, and they were all really nervous. I was able to get through it with the help of my family and friends, and now I’m just working and focused.”

Now that he’s with the big league club, Arozarena, Tampa Bay's No. 19 prospect per MLB Pipeline, has made the most of his opportunity and has shown all of his tools. Arozarena has shown his speed -- ranking in the 96th percentile according to Baseball Savant -- and has shown the ability to play quality defense at all three outfield spots.

“I feel really good because of the warm welcome the team gave me,” Arozarena said. “I was out 30 days with COVID, but the guys gave me so much support during that time.”

On Sunday, Arozarena continued to display an improved power tool, which comes due to some added muscle and his ability to find the barrel. With two more hard-hit balls on Sunday, Arozarena now has six batted balls with an exit velocity of 95 mph or higher. His barrels per plate appearance came in at 7.1 percent, which is slightly above league average.

With the two solo shots on Sunday, Arozarena has three homers in just 15 at-bats this season. Though still a small sample size, Arozarena’s three hits pushed his average to .467 and his OPS to 1.622. He has also hit safely in five of his last six at-bats.

“It’s awesome,” said Brandon Lowe, who won the game with a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 10th inning. “I feel like he never gets fooled. He goes out there and has good at-bats every single time. It’s really impressive to watch him play.”

Moving forward, the Rays will continue to rely on Arozarena, particularly against left-handed pitching. He’ll also get increased playing time against righties, likely cutting into Hunter Renfroe's opportunities.

“We saw enough of the tools during Spring Training in Port Charlotte to know that we had a pretty talented guy,” Cash said. “With the power that he’s shown here and how hard he hits the ball and the bat speed that he creates, it’s just really, really impressive.”