Red-hot September slugger looks to continue his approach in 2025

Jonathan Aranda was poised to have a breakout 2024 season as the door opened for him to be a regular in the big leagues. However, the 26-year old infielder suffered a fractured finger on his throwing hand in Spring Training and was sidelined for a month. Aranda returned with a vengeance and he hopes to continue his hot streak going into 2025.

On April 26, 2024, the Mexican utility player started a rehab assignment with the Rays' Triple-A affiliate in Durham, North Carolina. His performance was sub-par in 32 games with the Bulls, but he did produce 19 RBIs and seven home runs to go along with a .237 AVG.

The Rays decided to call up Jonathan Aranda in May, but he was sent back down to Triple-A less than a month later after hitting a lackluster .213 in 18 exhibitions. After another injury in the minors set him back a few weeks, Aranda was able to officially make his return to the big leagues on August 30th and the implications of September baseball seemed to have awoken his bat.

The left-handed batter manufactured a respectable .253 AVG with five homers in 24 games that month. He also crushed a home run in each game of their late-season series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The young Ray was on an absolute tear with clutch knocks coming seamlessly throughout the month. Hopefully, these stats are a glimpse of great things to come for Aranda in 2025.

However, a few issues arise when we look into Jonathan Aranda's future in Tampa Bay. Everyone in the organization is aware of his immense talent, especially on the offensive side of the game, but it is hard to find a clear niche for him on the Rays' roster.

The skillful infielder has played second base, third base, and first base in his short MLB career. In fact, he saw some playing time at first base with the absence of Yandy Diaz late in the 2024 season. Unfortunately, his defense doesn't quite match up with the deep infield that the Rays currently possess.

Yandy Diaz is still a mainstay at first base. Brandon Lowe will remain on the Rays as their everyday second baseman after exercising his player option for the 2025 season. Lastly, the young prospect, Junior Caminero will most likely patrol third base for the majority of the 2025 campaign. These filled spots leave Aranda as a utility/bench player at best.

Now, the Rays are always inclined to keep fresh, young stars available if it meets the roster requirements, so you shouldn't count Aranda out yet. We can expect an exciting spring from him as he continues to battle for a roster spot.