Rays postseason legend excluded from left fielder rankings after down year

Jun 29, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena (56) looks on against the Washington Nationals during the fourth inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
Jun 29, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena (56) looks on against the Washington Nationals during the fourth inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Former Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena has certainly had a whirlwind of a career. The Cuban slugger burst onto the scene in 2020 and quickly became a household name. However, all good things come to an end and the MLB Network rankings tend to be unforgiving.

Therefore, after ranking among the top six left fielders in the game the last two years, Arozarena was left off of this year's list due to a downward trend in production.

The talented corner outfielder only played in 23 regular season games in 2020, but it wasn't the regular season that constructed his stardom. Arozarena hit .377 with 14 extra-base hits in the Rays 2020 postseason run. Even more remarkably, the slugging outfielder broke three MLB records in the process, becoming the first player to record 29 hits, 64 total bases and 10 home runs in a single postseason.

This rapid rise to celebrity status may have gotten the best of Randy Arozarena as his production has started to take a nose-dive ever since his rookie season (aside from the first half of 2023). The 2024 campaign was his worst season to date and it unfortunately led to his demise on MLB Network's "Top 10 Left Fielders Right Now" list.

Arozarena slashed .219/.332/.388 last year for the Rays and Mariners. Regardless of those pedestrian numbers, the 29-year old completed his fourth straight 20 HR-20 SB season. The only other active player to accomplish this feat is Guardians infielder Jose Ramirez. Hank Aaron, Alex Rodriguez, and Willie Mays are among some of the legendary players who have also produced at least four straight 20-20 campaigns. That is impeccable company for Randy Land's namesake.

2024 saw the debut of Tropicana Field's Randy Land, but the Rays front office chose to send the 2023 All-Star to the Mariners for two competitive prospects. His offensive struggles continued in Seattle as he hit .231 with 5 home runs in 54 contests.

Despite the down year, the future will likely still be bright for Arozarena. He tends to be a streaky athlete that thrives on consistent playing time. He received ample at-bats last season to the tune of 154 games, but the slumps just overwhelmed him. The move to another organization may have also been a factor in his decline. Nonetheless, Randy Arozarena will be pursuing his fifth straight 20-20 season in 2025, hoping to continue a trend of solid results.

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