Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena will not be a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
MLB reporter Francys Romero on Thursday night was first to report the Mariners acquired Arozarena in a deal with Tampa Bay. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic later confirmed the move.
Per Mark Tompkins of the Tampa Bay Times, the acquisition cost the Mariners their No. 12 prospect, 20-year-old outfielder Aidan Smith, and their No. 22 prospect, 22-year-old right-handed pitcher Brody Hopkins. A player to be named later will also go in the trade.
Seattle is in the midst of a race for its playoff life. They're 1.0 games back of the Astros for the American League West lead, and they're 3.5 back of the final Wild Card spot.
While it makes sense that the Mariners are a little more desperate than the Dodgers, who are a comfortable 7.5 games up on the rest of the National League West, this is still a pretty significant blow for LA.
The Dodgers will be targeting top-end pitching at the deadline, but they've also been tied to high-profile outfielders to help give their batting order some depth that would stabilize their entire lineup. Arozarena was a popular name for LA, particularly since he appears to have turned his season around after an abysmal start.
The 29-year-old is batting .211 this year with a .786 OPS and 15 home runs. Over his last 30 games though he's hitting .288 with a .924 OPS and six homers. Adding Arozarena to the everyday lineup would've made the Dodgers exceedingly dangerous, especially when considering his penchant for coming through in big moments.
Perhaps another name will surface, but it appears LA will now set its sites on 26-year-old Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert. He's the other high-profile outfield name that's been floated alongside the Dodgers. This season Robert is batting .222 with 12 home runs and a .759 OPS. This is by far his worst season at the plate, so there's some hope getting him in a lineup like LA's will help him ascend back toward the mean.
So far the Dodgers haven't made any major moves before the July 30 deadline. The Arozarena trade might just be the first of many dominoes that will begin falling. Whether the Dodgers are among the teams to take advantage could decide whether they're true World Series contenders come October.
