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Randy Lia Arozarena González (born February 28, 1995) is a Cuban Mexicans professional baseball outfielder for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays. He has represented Mexico in international baseball competitions after previously playing for Cuban youth teams.
Arozarena moved from Cuba to Mexico in 2015, then signed with the Cardinals in 2016. He made his MLB debut in 2019 and was traded to the Rays before the 2020 season. That year, Arozarena set the MLB record with 10 home runs in a single postseason. Four of those came against the Houston Astros in the 2020 American League Championship Series, netting him series MVP honors. The following year, he won the AL Rookie of the Year award. He was named to his first All-Star Game in 2023, where he started in left field.
In 2015, Arozarena defection from Cuba to Mexico on a small boat. He had brief stints in the Mérida Winter League, the Norte de México League, and with the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League in 2016, before playing for the Mayos de Navojoa of the Mexican Pacific League in the winter after the 2016 season.
Arozarena was a non-roster invitee to the Cardinals' 2018 spring training. He began the season with the Memphis Redbirds. In July, he was selected to the 2018 All-Star Futures Game. Arozarena also played 24 games in the middle of the season down with Springfield. He helped Memphis win the Pacific Coast League (PCL) title and was named a co-MVP of the PCL playoffs alongside teammate Tommy Edman. Over 113 games between Memphis and Springfield, he batted .274/.359/.433 with 12 home runs, 49 RBI, and 26 stolen bases. Arozarena played a third season of winter baseball for Mayos de Navojoa in 2018, appearing in only 15 games.
On August 12, 2019, the Cardinals selected Arozarena's contract and promoted him to the major leagues. He made his major league debut on August 14 against the Kansas City Royals. He was sent down to Memphis on August 20 but returned to St. Louis on September 3. In 19 games with St. Louis, Arozarena hit .300 with one home run, two RBIs, and two stolen bases. He came off the bench in five Cardinals postseason games, going 0-for-4 and getting hit by a pitch after sticking his elbow into an off-speed pitch from Aníbal Sánchez.
Arozarena took off in the expanded 2020 postseason. He had three extra base hits and scored three runs in the two-game Wild Card Series, then batted .429 with 3 home runs in the five-game American League Division Series win over the New York Yankees. In Game 7 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) against the Houston Astros, Arozarena hit a two-run home run, passing former Ray Evan Longoria for the most home runs by a rookie in a postseason. Arozarena was named the MVP of the ALCS, the first rookie position player to win the award. In the series, he hit .321 with four home runs and six RBIs. Arozarena then hit home runs in Game 3, 4, and 6 of the World Series, breaking the all-time record for most home runs in a single postseason. In Game 3, he surpassed Derek Jeter for most hits by a rookie in the postseason. In Game 5, he recorded his 27th hit in the postseason, surpassing Pablo Sandoval for the most hits in a single postseason. Arozarena attributed his playoff power stroke to wearing a special pair of lucky cowboy boots, which he calls his "power boots."
Arozarena is the Rays' franchise leader with 59 hit by pitches, one ahead of Brandon Guyer, and ranks in the top 10 in many offensive categories, including home runs, stolen bases, and OPS. He also holds many Rays postseason records, including most hits, home runs, and total bases, batting .349 in 28 games.
On June 30, 2025, Arozarena hit two home runs, including his 100th career home run off Royals pitcher Michael Wacha as he went 2–for–4 with those two home runs and four RBIs. Arozarena was named an All-Star for the second time in his career, replacing teammate Julio Rodríguez on the active roster. Arozarena stole his 20th stolen base on July 29, completing his fifth consecutive 20 –20 season. He tied Mike Trout for third-most 20/20 seasons in American League history behind Alex Rodriguez (six) and José Ramírez (seven).
Arozarena announced his intention to play for Mexico in 2020, saying "I feel like I represent Mexico. I have a daughter in Mexico, and I’d do it in honor of her and for the part of my career that I spent in Mexico, and for all the friends I’ve made in Mexico.” In October 2022, MLB announced that Arozarena would play for Mexico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Arozarena was named the most valuable player of Pool C in the tournament, besting Mike Trout. In the semifinal game against Japan, Arozarena hit a double to score the go-ahead run and made several timely catches, including a "home-run robbery" from Kazuma Okamoto. However, Mexico would lose the game on a walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth inning. Arozarena led Mexico in many offensive categories, batting .450/.607/.900 with six doubles, one home run, and nine RBIs in the tournament. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called Arozarena a "phenomenon" for his tournament performance. Arozarena was named to the All-WBC team; he and Trea Turner were the only unanimous selections. Arozarena received his all-tournament award from Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard at a Rays game on May 21, 2023.
Arozarena is married to Cenelia Pinedo Blanco and has two daughters, one of whom was born in Mexico in 2018. On November 23, 2020, Arozarena was arrested in Mexico's Yucatán state after allegedly trying to kidnap his daughter from her mother and assaulting the woman's father. He was released two days later as the child's mother did not press charges. Arozarena's second daughter was born in 2021.
Fellow Cuban outfielder Adolis García is the godfather of one of Arozarena's daughters. The two outfielders were teammates and roommates in the Cardinals' minor league system, and Arozarena described Garcia as "kind of like my brother" in 2023. The two friends both started in the outfield in the 2023 All-Star Game, after Arozarena bested Garcia in the Home Run Derby.
Arozarena's younger brother is soccer player Raiko Arozarena, currently a goalkeeper for the Cuban national team and the Las Vegas Lights of the
/ref> His family also includes his mother Sandra and his other younger brother Ronny.
In 2020, a film based on Arozarena's life was being developed with an estimated release in 2022 or 2023. Arozarena confirmed in 2023 that the film had fallen through but said he still wanted to make a movie about his life.
Arozarena became a Mexican citizen in 2022, prior to representing the country in international baseball.
Arozarena loves football and is a fan of Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo.
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