Rays' Randy Arozarena: Continues to impress in WBC
Rotowire
Arozarena went 1-for-3 with a run scored to help Team Mexico to a 5-4 victory Friday over Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals.
Reaching three times is always nice, but the highlight for Arozarena was a spectacular catch late in the contest that would have scored two runs and essentially preserved the win. The Tampa Bay outfielder has been outstanding in the WBC, hitting .471/.625/.941 at the top of the Mexico lineup. The big stage clearly doesn't get to Arozarena, and managers will hope he can carry over this success into the regular season in less than two weeks.
Arozarena agreed to a one-year, $4.15 million contract with the Rays on Friday to avoid arbitration, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
It's finally the first year of arbitration eligibility for Arozarena, who burst onto the scene for Tampa Bay in the 2020 playoffs with a .377 batting average and 10 homers. The 27-year-old had a .263/.327/.445 slash line with 20 home runs, 89 RBI and 32 stolen bases in 153 games last season.
